Hemmings Article on Moderating

[Steve Moskowitz]

Overall, our site has been behaving very well but this article today is worth sharing.  Thanks for reading.  Amazing number of replies at Hemmings and they were all very positive towards this post.

 

The internet isn’t always a friendly place. No matter where you navigate your browser these days, it often comes down to this: people love to argue, infused perhaps with what Roger Waters called “the bravery of being out of range.”

Hemmings isn’t immune from this, and no matter how much we try to avoid politics and other sensitive issues in our Hemmings Daily articles, sometimes things get out of hand with comments. To keep it civil, those of us who moderate comments are faced with editing or deleting reader replies, or in extreme cases, banning an email or an IP address.

We want to keep this site friendly to all interests and all ages, so there are a few absolute rules. Profanity isn’t allowed, and the same goes with hate speech or personal attacks. There’s nothing wrong with disagreeing with a stated opinion – as long as your opinion furthers the discussion and isn’t disparaging – but “piling on” is absolutely not allowed. If your comment adds nothing to the discussion (Case in point: We never need to read another comment stating an auction winner has “more money than brains.”), don’t expect it to be published.

Likewise, any attempts to steer the discussion in a downward spiral will be deleted. Your vague sexual reference may seem inoffensive, but allow one such comment, and you’re guaranteed to get dozens more, each more prurient in nature. Attempts to shift the discussion to focus on a personal agenda (i.e., promote one business or condemn another) will also be deleted, as will anything political in nature. There are plenty of places to discuss politics on the internet, but we’re about things with engines (and occasionally, motors).

Remember that Hemmings was founded on classified advertising, so be respectful in comments on Finds of the Day. You may not agree with the asking price, but remember — our customers are free to ask what they want for an item being sold. This isn’t a pointed concours judging, either, so comments with the intent purpose of criticizing a vehicle’s condition (or the ad copy itself) will be deleted as well. The same goes for comments that attempt to sell vehicles or parts.

So what do we want to read in comments? Anything that relates to the article as written and comes from a personal experience, assuming it falls within the guidelines above. If you can contribute facts (or corrections) based upon personal knowledge, we welcome the input, as long as it’s presented in a positive manner. Was a question raised by another commenter that you’ve got the answer to? Chime in and join the discussion. Got a tip on a story we may have overlooked, related to something we’ve written? Please pass it along to us, since we’re perpetually on the hunt for interesting things to write about.

All of us here at Hemmings, from the editors to our readers, are joined by a common passion for automobiles. That makes us a very large and occasionally dysfunctional family, so to maintain harmony around the metaphorical workbench, the golden rule is this: treat one another with respect. You may not like prewar cars, or imports, or cars of the 1970s, but someone else does. Remember that before penning a reply, and you’ll make our job as moderators much, much easier.

 

Kurt Ernst, author “Hemmings Daily, a publication of Hemmings Motor News”

 

[SC38dls]

Well said both in your intro and this article. We do appreciate the effort all of the moderators put forth. Thank you 

Dave S 

[cxgvd]

Thanks for the gentle reminder to place our best foot forward and out of our mouth.  Regards, Gary

[John Byrd]

It was an excellent article, and Kurt and all the others there do  a great job.  Thanks for putting it on here too Steve, I didn't think about sharing it when I 1st read it early this morning.  Of course you guys are great too !

[trimacar]

Thanks to all the moderators do.

 

My Dad used to say put your best foot forward, try the one in your mouth, it's the clean one......

[60FlatTop]

I have a few of those old Hemmings Motor News issues when all they had was ads written by sellers. I used to read every ad.

Bernie

[Restorer32]

Back in the day, based on a Hemmings ad, we phoned a gentleman offering a '31 Cadillac Roadster for $2500. He answered the phone with "Congratulations, you are the 250th caller for the Caddy. I sold it to the first caller". This was in 1971 or so.