Comments and what to do about them
Updated August 2018
All comments are strictly moderated. I ask everyone to keep their remarks to a Pixar PG as there are kids reading this blog. I enjoy lively discussion and welcome your opinions, recommendations and suggestions. However, I will not tolerate anything that even borders on hate speech or that veers toward libel. It may not be against the law to malign the dead in most countries but it is terrible taste and I will have no part of it. I also take a dim view of bullying, sealioning and circular arguments.
I like to have deep discussions on this site and THIS INCLUDES THE RIGHT FOR COMMENTERS TO DISCUSS AND CONDEMN THE RACIST CONTENT OF OLDER ENTERTAINMENT. They are allowed to bring it up without being labeled as “PC” or being the target of other silencing tactics.
Email Privacy: Email addresses are required for commenting but they will not be published or shared. I do reserve the right to use this address to privately contact the commenter.
Commenter Privacy and Protection: Please do not include email, addresses, telephone numbers, or any other private or personal information in your comment. If a comment with such information is submitted, it will either be deleted or the information in question will be redacted. To prevent such editing, never share this private information in a blog comment.
Off-topic Comments: Please stay on topic! Obviously, conversations go their own way but for site business and other questions, please contact me.
Promoting Illegal Activity: You’d think this would be obvious but there’s always one… Don’t promote illegal stuff. Don’t link to bootlegs. Don’t talk about how awesome movie piracy is. This site only links to legal copies of silent films and all commenters are asked to do the same.
Getting Personal: No personal attacks are permitted in the comments. Feel free to disagree but not personally attack the author or any other commenters. Failure to respect fellow participants, commenters or authors on Movies Silently can result in a permanent comment ban and blocked access. There is no review or appeal if this occurs.
Please note that personal attacks do not always mean name-calling. It can also be “sentences that include the words “people like you” or statements that begin “I bet you” or “you must/probably” etc.” In short, petty accusations and general nastiness are not tolerated. Don’t pick fights, don’t impute motives, don’t be horrible.
Time Factor: In order to keep topics and comments fresh, the ability to comment lasts just 90 days from the original post.
Space Limits: Longer comments are difficult to moderate and to respond to. They may also trigger automated spam flags.
Trackbacks Are Comments: Trackbacks and pingbacks are subject to this commenting policy.
All Rights Reserved: Just to make things clear, here is the full legal spiel. The blog owner, administrator, contributor, editor, and/or author reserve the right to edit, delete, move, or mark as spam any and all comments. They also have the right to block access from commenting or from the entire website.
Hold Harmless: All comments within this blog are the responsibility of the commenter, not the blog owner, administrator, contributor, editor, or author. By submitting a comment on our blog, you agree that the comment content is your own, and to hold this site, Movies Silently, and all subsidiaries and representatives harmless from any and all repercussions, damages, or liability.
Moderation
All comments must be reviewed and approved before being published. Please note that we all have day jobs and there may be a delay in the comment approval process.
I pretty much approve 99% of the comments submitted to the site but I reserve the right to edit, reject or delete any comment for any reason at any time.
Here are a few reasons why you comment may be rejected:
It contained objectionable language. I am an old-fashioned girl and prefer to not publish comments containing, shall we say, Anglo-Saxon directness. Comments that contain these words (as well as any slurs) are automatically flagged. Remember, kids are reading!
It veered into NSFW topics, religion or politics. This is a silent film site. This is not the place to hash out religious or political issues. While some silent films deal with mature topics, I ask that any discussion of these topics be within the bounds of good taste. If you want to discuss the sexual aspects of a particular film, please do so elsewhere. I have said it before and I will say it again: Kids are reading! (Also, I am a prude. A big one.) This is also not the place to fight out questions of a star’s love life, choice of partners, etc. This is mainly because I do not care. At all.
Someone is a big meany: Please play nice.
It is completely off-topic. That should be self-explanatory. You may be curious as to the circumstances of Rudolph Valentino’s funeral but the place to post that query is not in a review of a Buster Keaton short film.
It goes on for too long. Longer comments are just too unwieldy to moderate. Comments in excess of 200 words also trigger automatic spam filters. Speaking of which…
Spam-blockers can be strange sometimes. If you have posted a comment and it has not yet been approved, please note that I use spam blocking services and your message may have been misdirected. Spam triggers include excessive hyperlinks, excessive length and certain keywords, which I do not control. Sometimes even longtime readers with a long comment history will set off triggers. If you feel your comment has been misdirected, please contact me with your questions.
Editing comments
For the most part, I let all comments through as-is. I may edit a comment if, for example:
1. It combines important on-topic information with off-topic information
2. There is a copy-paste error and duplicate content was submitted
I do reserve the right to edit comments for length, content and/or any other reason. In general, though, comments will be rejected before they are edited. If you would like me to edit one of your comments, please contact me.
Self-plugs
It’s okay to occasionally have a link back to one of your articles if it has to do with the topic being discussed. However, please do not abuse the privilege. I also ask that you not include commercial links in your comments as these could be construed as an endorsement from this website.
Banning
I know some webmasters hold the view that engaging hostile commenters can help them to grow as writers. I do not share that opinion. Life is too short to deal with mean people when there are other alternatives. Disagreement? Swell. But if you get rude or abusive, you will be banned. Fortunately, I have had to use this very rarely.
Basically, just think of how you would speak to someone in their own home. Disagree with their opinions or point out an error? All well and good. Get rude or act like a jerk? You will be asked to leave. Comment sections are a privilege, not a right.
Basically, Movies Silently reserves the right to mute, ban or reject the comments of any individual or group. Banned commenters will not be informed and there is no appeal process. Bans are permanent.
Free speech: Hold on, let me check… Nope! I do not, in fact, rule the United States or any other country. Free speech refers to governments silencing citizens (and even that has limits) not someone refusing to give commenters a platform to be rude or abusive. Free speech does not give you the right to be published anywhere you like and it does not protect you from the consequences of what you say.
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