Here are answers to some frequently asked questions about the Mormon Inquiry site and blog. The content includes original DMI posts and pages, as well as cross-posted material that I originally posted at Times and Seasons, Juvenile Instructor, By Common Consent, or Beliefnet.
What's your EMAIL ADDRESS? Write me at dmiwlog at yahoo dot com. I respond to most email.
Who are you, Dave? For a short bio, see my About Me page.
What's your COMMENT POLICY? Simple: Comments are reserved for friendly discussion on posted topics. “Friendly discussion” is broad enough to include disagreement, even pointed criticism, as well as pleasant observations and exchanges. It excludes insults, tasteless profanity, copyright violations, libel, threadjacking, trolling, commercial promotion, spamming, and similar social or legal transgressions. I rarely delete comments or ban IP addresses. If you've got a question or a complaint, just email me.
Why are comments closed on older posts? After one week, comments automatically close. This controls spam and spurious comments on stale threads. If there is an old post you really, really want to comment on, email me and I'll open it up for you.
Why won't my comments post? I sometimes use a comment queue through a Typepad feature called "comment moderation." This generally means about a half-day delay before your comment gets published at the public weblog. Note there is no message telling you your comment went into a queue after you hit post.
Why do you sometimes use a comment queue? To eliminate comment spam completely and to catch abusive or offensive comments before they are posted publicly. Or when I have a particularly busy day at work, or when I'm on vacation and don't want to worry about a bunch of junk being posted at DMI via comments. I also turn it on when I post on particularly controversial topic.
Review and approve comments? Sounds like censorship. No, I'm not editing for content — I welcome all points of view in the comments. I just want to eliminate comment spam and abusive or offensive comments (see Comment Policy paragraph above). I have spent a lot of time making my weblog an interesting place where people whose views of Mormonism span the entire spectrum can make comments. It would be unfair to everyone if a few abusive commenters were allowed to spoil the forum.
Why do you require an email address? So if you post a comment that raises one of the issues discussed in the previous paragraph, I have the option of emailing you to resolve it. Leaving a real email address isn't much of a hurdle, folks. For what it's worth, phony email addresses are the best indicator of a troll.
Sometimes my typos seem to magically disappear. Yes, it seems like that happens sometimes, doesn't it?
Before I put the preceding FAQ together, I had a simpler statement. What follows is my original comment policy statement. I think it is still useful.
Original Comment Policy: It is time that I spell out specific commenting policies for DMI. My comment section is for friendly discussion by real people about topics posted. Comments outside this broad range -- unfriendly discussion by poseurs with phony email addresses or generic comments that are just advertising links -- may be edited, deleted, or banned. The needs of the many for a friendly and welcoming forum outweigh the needs of the few or the one for a billboard or a soapbox.
I enjoy your comments and discussion. Feel free to email me with other comments or questions at dmiw at yahoo dot com. If your comment was edited or deleted and after reading these policies and you still can't figure out why, email me and I'll explain.
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