Keep in mind that these are comments on news stories. The County will remove posts that are off-topic, better suited as e-mail back to the original posting member, or one-line insults (member harassment).
HARASSMENT: We welcome persons of all backgrounds, orientations, and political/social viewpoints. This means that the most important rule on this site is the following: We encourage good-natured debate and the exchange of ideas; we will not tolerate threats, abuse, hate-speech, personal attacks, and harassment.
If you want to criticize or attack, restrict the comments to an attack or criticism of the idea, not the person posting the idea. For example, it is okay to write, “That’s a crude and useless thing to say,” but it is not okay to write, “You have to be the most crude and useless person on the planet.”
VULGARITY AND MASKED VULGARITY: In the County, many folks find vulgar language, such as cusswords, uncomfortable. Please avoid using vulgar language on our boards. Masked Vulgarity happens when a person masks curse words by replacing the words or letters in a word with symbols, so the word isn’t spelled out. We will remove posts of this type.
BOARD DISRUPTION: Our goal is for you to enjoy the topics and discussions on the The County. We will remove without notice posts that are off-topic, little cluttering messages of “me too”, or posts that interfere with a discussion at our discretion.
UNACCEPTABLE DISCUSSION: The County will eliminate the promotion of illegal activities on the forums and comments. Further, we reserve the right to delete posts that, in our opinion, involve non-consensual activities or could result in harm to someone.
CLASSIFIED, COMMERCIAL, OR SOLICITING POSTS: We will remove solicitations, and advertisements for events, property or businesses.
The County will delete all posts with signature lines which include links to other forums and message boards that are not associated with TheCounty.me
SINGLE POSTS ONLY: SPAM is ugly and pernicious. In order to avoid the appearance of SPAM, a person should not post the same message more than once per story.
POSTING PERSONAL INFORMATION: Addresses, phone numbers (fax, pager, etc.), and other private information doesn’t belong in the comments of stories. Exceptions to this rule include posting contact information for legitimate resources and non-profit organizations. The County can remove posts containing phone numbers.
Let’s keep it upbeat, folks. Even if you dislike someone, show a little respect for their opinion. If you dislike a particular topic, just refrain from posting there. Comments about how much you dislike a particular subject are just more fodder for The County’s delete key.
We will do our utmost to be fair when judging posts on their merits and context, however we reserve the right to remove any post for any reason.
