I love comments on this blog. They are as important as anything else written on Anxiety, Panic & Health. Comments add to the knowledge and community that exists here. Your comments are more than welcome – they are essential!
I moderate the comments, and remove comments that do not follow the guidelines below. If you think a comment is inappropriate in any way, please email me using the Contact tab at the top of every page, and I will address the situation right away.
If you have questions or comments on this Comment Policy, please feel free to email me using the “Contact” tab at the top of every page.
Guidelines for Commenting
1. Please be polite
No name calling, rudeness, personal attacks and similar comments will be tolerated. If you’re unsure whether your comment falls under these limitations, just remember the Golden Rule. And remember that your comment will be visible worldwide, so don’t say anything you wouldn’t want your mother to see! Discussions, even heated ones, are welcome, but keep it nice.
2. Comments must be true and correct in light of your knowledge and experience
This should be obvious. Any comments that violate this policy will be deleted.
3. Comments with any links will be moderated.
Relevant links in comments are actively encouraged. If you want to point to a link on your own or someone else’s site that is relevant to the topic, then please feel free to do so. However, I have to approve every comment that has a link.
4. Commenters by default are considered to be non-medical professionals
Any comment made, either by me or someone else, must be considered to be an opinion from a non-medical professional, unless the commenter’s medical credentials are included in the comment. No comment should be substituted for the diagnosis and recommendations of a trained medical professional. If you hold that your comment contains fact rather than opinion, you must provide a link to the health/medical information from which you draw the information, otherwise it will be considered to be opinion.
5. No commercial messages
Commercial messages and links in comments are not allowed and will be deleted, no matter how good the product or service is, or how relevant it might be to readers. Allowing the comment or link to stand would be a tacit endorsement of the product or service without my having reviewed it. If you wish readers to learn about your product or service, please feel free to use the Contact tab at the top of the screen to email me to discuss the possibilities open to you.
6. Spam is deleted
I have spam filters in place which automatically catch the majority of automated spam comments. I don’t put up with it, and if any spam comments slip through the filters, I delete them immediately.
7. No trolls allowed
I delete comments with crude language, obvious attempts to anger others, or other comments that I deem not to be in keeping with the standards of this site. If these comments persist, I will ban the commenter from this site.
8. I reserve the right to edit any comment
An example of this would be a good comment that is made by a salesperson for a commercial interest. I would edit the comment to remove the commercial message. I always note in the comment that I have edited it.
9. I own this blog and my decision is final
I am the sole arbiter of whether a comment is libelous, hateful, hurtful, or otherwise inappropriate. This blog is my responsibility, and I take it seriously. The readers of Anxiety, Panic & Health are worldwide, and I believe I have a mandate to keep comments constructive, polite, and acceptable to this broad audience.
People who choose to violate these policies will be notified by email. After two notifications, they will be banned from the site.
Last updated March 29, 2013