Policy - Social Media and this blog

Comment Up

There is a balancing act when writing a blog or writing to your Facebook page or other social media. The biggest challenge is our First Amendment, as free speech is what separates this country from many in the world where people are suppressed and extreme actions are used against them, even death for stating an opinion or speaking out. That is why Freedom of Speech is so important to me. There are many who come here to comment and those comments are weighed as carefully as I can scrutinize them, to consider what's acceptable, what may not be and if freedom of speech is being impugned in any way if I choose not to publish them.

Lynn's Little bit of Trivia has had a comment policy since inception. Because of the explosive politics in this city, I spend way too much time monitoring each comment. The basis for me in making a decision whether to launch or not derives from whether I believe the comment is truthful and is not a personal attack. Some slip through. It is impossible to catch all of them as this blog has had 33,199 comments.

I have decided to not accept any more comments on the N word issue, pro or con on the subject. People have pretty much made up their minds, thanks in some respects to politics, that someone is guilty or not guilty of the charge. Let's hope that if you ever have to be tried by a jury in this country, that the jury hasn't already considered you guilty based on no evidence other than someone saying you are.

• Are abusive, harassing, dumb, disrespectful, threatening
• Are obscene, vulgar (I will edit or delete)
• Are racially, ethnically or religiously offensive (my call)
• Are illegal or encourages criminal acts
• Are known to be inaccurate or contains a false attribution (this happens with frequency)
• Impersonates anyone (actual or fictitious)
• Solicits funds, goods or services, or advertises.

BLOGGER
Hate Speech: Our products are platforms for free expression. But we don't support content that promotes or condones violence against individuals or groups based on race or ethnic origin, religion, disability, gender, age, nationality, veteran status, or sexual orientation/gender identity, or whose primary purpose is inciting hatred on the basis of these core characteristics. This can be a delicate balancing act, but if the primary purpose is to attack a protected group, the content crosses the line.

FACEBOOK POLICY

We don’t tolerate bullying or harassment. We allow you to speak freely on matters and people of public interest, but remove content that appears to purposefully target private individuals with the intention of degrading or shaming them. This content includes, but is not limited to:

• Pages that identify and shame private individuals,
• Images altered to degrade private individuals,
• Photos or videos of physical bullying posted to shame the victim,
• Sharing personal information to blackmail or harass people, and
• Repeatedly targeting other people with unwanted friend requests or messages.

We define private individuals as people who have neither gained news attention nor the interest of the public, by way of their actions or public profession.