I’ve actually been planning on making a page like this on DR… but I didn’t want to clutter my header up with yet another page.  So, instead, I’ll just make it here… and link to it if need be.

Now, I am perhaps one of the most relaxed bloggers out there when it comes to commenting, especially on my World of Warcraft blogs.  I’ve tolerated people implying I lack skill, intelligence, and empathy with a smile.  Sure, I’ve never had anything really nasty said to me… but it’s bound to happen one day.

So.  Just in case the inevitable occurs…

This is how we comment folks!

1.  Regarding Spam: Akismet is the awesomesauce at catching spam.  If you spam me with crap, it’ll show.  And don’t try to hide it either, with your cheeky “OMG you so hot!” or “This post was awesome. Thanks” crap.  If you are linking to a site that I consider to be suspicious, I’ll be deleting your comment.  If you write a truly awesome comment, but link to a dodgy site… I’ll delete your comment.  Or possibly repost it, with the link removed.  That goes for gold sellers and account traders as well.

2. Regarding foul language: A little swearing is OK.  My posts are usually a good guide to use.  I rarely, if ever, swear in these posts.  I’ll use non-cussy forms of words (jinkies! Fricking! Damn!), and I would appreciate it if you followed the same trend.  There could be children out there or something.  I don’t mind the occasional mild swearing slipping through, but strong words will be edited out.  Especially the ‘c’ word.

3.  Attack the thought, not the thinker:  Feel free to disagree with me.  Hell, I know I am wrong more often than I am right (something easily proven if you look at my high school boyfriends!)  However, insulting me isn’t going to get you anywhere – not with me, and not with the other readers.  It’s also a REALLY good way of taking an awesome point you might have, and rolling it through so much mud that we can’t even recognise it as such any more.  Shame, really.  Oh – and it’s really bad to insult other readers and commenters.  Doing that will have your comment instantly deleted.

4. Links: This comes under spam, really.  If it’s relevant, by all means, go for it.  If it’s not, it’s spam and will be dealt with appropriately.

5. Spelling, grammar and punctuation: It says it right there in the about page – I am an English teacher.  This should tell you that I am a little bit of a spelling and grammar freak.  I don’t demand perfection, but I would appreciate it if you remembered to put full stops at the end of sentences, refrained from using ‘txtspk’ unless there was a specific reason for doing so, and made sure you didn’t mangle words beyond all comprehension.  However, I’m pretty flexible with this one – my own writing is rarely perfect, so I can hardly fault anyone else.

Apart from that, I love comments.  I really do.  Every blogger has some weird little thing where their heart races, their eyes light up, and their day instantly becomes 100% more awesome when they see a comment.  Feel free to say basically whatever it is you want to say – just keep the above points in mind.  Do that, and I will be the happiest little tree imaginable!