FAQ: Comments & Moderation

Question (Q): What is Dencore’s Comment Policy?

Answer (A): Community and Commenting Guiding Principles

In order to promote an open and transparent conversation, Dencore moderates comments on news stories and blog posts.

Each moderator is responsible for publishing appropriate comments and delete what is perceived as inappropriate comments.  Community members are also encouraged to flag inappropriate comments. Dencore pays close attention to our community’s flags.

Dencore realizes that moderation, by its very nature, is subjective and that the lines between appropriate and inappropriate comments can be blurry.  We and our community moderators are guided by the following basic guidelines which include compliance with Danish law, including copyright law, and applicable regulations pertaining to intellectual property.

In general, our moderators use the following baseline to determine whether a comment is appropriate or not:

  • Ask whether the comment is inappropriate.
  • Ask whether the comment violates any of the guidelines outlined here. If the comment does, then it should be flagged or deleted. If the comment doesn’t, the comment should be published or left alone.

Here are our five guiding principles:

    1. Dencore welcomes all users to join our community and to comment and treats all members of the community equally. We do not censor comments for political or ideological reasons nor will we delete an appropriate comment because we disagree with its viewpoint or ideology. Likewise, we will not publish an inappropriate comment because we agree with or support its viewpoint or ideology; ad hominem attacks of any kind are not tolerated.
    2. The aim of Dencore is to be a meeting point for open, transparent conversations in which people connect, discuss, share ideas, and debate the issues.
      1. Dencore is dedicated to being open and transparent and committed to fostering a vibrant discussion of the issues of the day, Dencore can tolerate that sometimes the conversation can lead to frustration, anger, hyperbole, or the use of biting humor and that courtesy can vanish and good manners abandoned.
      2. Dencore is committed to a basically civil tone means Dencore does not allow extravagant or superfluous profanity or speech that is otherwise vile. Dencore’s common-sense judgment is used to discern between the two and err on the side of openness and transparency.  Within this area, in particular, we defer to the flags left by our users in the context of our growing community reputation system.
    3. Dencore is also committed to maintaining a non-toxic atmosphere.
      1. Hate speech, nor speech which advocates or supports hatred or unlawful violence, is not tolerated by Dencore. Likewise, racism, sexism, homophobia, anti-Semitism, or other intolerances, threats of violence or threats to anyone or any group’s personal safety are not acceptable. False claims or misleading implications that any individual or group perpetuates hate or unlawful violence are not allowed.
      2. Comments that criticize others based on physical appearances or mental characteristics are not allowed nor does Dencore allow comments that celebrate the death, illness, or personal loss of any person.
      3. The promotion and propagation of conspiracy theories are not allowed.
    4. In order to preserve a functional and civil conversation, Dencore does not allow trolls, trollish behavior, or stalking.
      1. Speech that is solely intended to provoke other users, to cause disorder or confusion, or to inhibit regular, on-topic conversation is prohibited. Within this area, in particular, Dencore defers to the flags left by our users in the context of our growing community reputation system.
      2. Stalking is not tolerated. Dencore’s definition of stalking includes posting personal information about another community member, pursuing another member from thread to thread in an attempt to harass, deliberately misquoting or lying about another member, copying a username in order to embarrass or harass another member, or unwelcome sexual advances toward another member. In addition, Dencore does not tolerate lying about being a staff moderator or about communications with a staff moderator.
    5. Members of the Dencore community deserve to be free from spam, and Dencore does not allow posting the same comment multiple times within one thread or on multiple threads.
      1. Dencore also flags and deletes all comments containing business solicitations or other advertising of personal interests, blogs, or websites. (A link to a personal blog is fine.)
      2. Spam includes comments that are off-topic. If off-topic conversation inhibits or prevents on-topic conversation, Dencore considers it comment hijacking, and do not allow it. That said, we understand that Dencore’s comment threads aren’t just about content. They’re also about conversation. And in natural conversation, people exchange pleasantries, greetings, congratulations, praise, and other social gestures. So Dencore errs on the side of facilitating an open conversation, even when that means permitting limited off-topic comments and conversation. Also in this area especially, Dencore defers to the flags left by our users in the context of our growing community reputation system.

Question: I posted a comment. Why can’t I see it on the site?

Answer: There are two scenarios under which your comment may not appear:

  1. Your comment may be pending approval. Comments on the blog are moderated BEFORE they appear on the Dencore site, and this takes time. Since the volume of comments on the site has grown rapidly, there is often a delay between a comment being posted and it being approved, especially during peak hours. We appreciate your patience and ask that you refrain from posting the same comment repeatedly.
  2. Your comment violated the aforementioned comment guidelines. Dencore prides itself in providing a medium for engaging and thought-provoking stories and encourage our users to speak their minds freely, provided comments fall within our commenting policy. Dencore must respect our writers and protect them from vicious and inflammatory comments. They too are entitled to free speech – the right to share their opinions without being subject to scathing and mean-spirited remarks.

Question: Why am I blocked from commenting on Dencore?

Answer: There are a few scenarios under a comment might be blocked:

  1. A comment is extremely abusive, off-topic, uses excessive foul language, or includes an ad hominem attack.
  2. If a commenter has previously posted comments that are abusive, off-topic, used excessive foul language, or include ad hominem attacks,  we may decide to ban the commenter’s IP address. This means the abusive commenter is banned from commenting on the site in the future, even if the later comments are not abusive.

Question: Can I include HTML in my comments?

Answer: All html will be removed from comments to preserve formatting consistency on the site.

Question: If you do not allow HTML, how can I include a link in my comment?

A: If you include a URL in your comment, it will be converted to a link. Please note, comments containing links to personal blogs and other inappropriate sites will be deleted. Only links to relevant news stories or sites are acceptable.

Question: There is a comment that I find insulting and in violation of your policy. What can I do?
Answer: Please send us an e-mail  (or write to info at Dencore dot eu). In your e-mail, please indicate:

  1. which posting the comment takes place in;
  2. which comment you find offensive;
  3. why you find the comment offensive.

By doing so, you will alert Dencore so that we can delete the comments that do not comply with our comments policy.

Question: Can I print comments?

Answer: Unfortunately, it is currently not possible to print comments. A feature that will let you print comments is currently in the works but for the time being, you will need to copy and paste the comments into another program and print the comments from that program.