How we Moderate our Comment Sections

Commenting at Gateway Pundit is a privilege, not a Constitutional Right. While we welcome and encourage comments, we expect our commenters to abide by our policies without argument, to treat others (including our Moderators) with respect and to generally act as if they were a guest in someone’s home. Be aware that we reserve the right to edit or remove any comment without explanation and that Disqus provides no mechanism to issue “warnings.” Please take the time to read through our Comment Policy before you comment.

Do realize that while this is a fairly comprehensive explanation of the rules and guidelines we use to moderate our Comments Sections, it is not exhaustive.

One of the most frequent questions the Moderators here at Gateway Pundit hear is “What happened to my comment?” If you’ve made a comment that then magically disappears there are several possibilities.

Your comment has been selected for moderation. This can happen if you use one of the words that we screen for, include a link in your comment or someone flags your post.

Be aware that we screen all comments that contain links because of an onslaught of spam and porn link-containing comments. Assuming that your link is valid, your post will magically reappear. Posting it numerous times does not help, though it might annoy the Moderator.

While I’m talking about links, let me also point out that here at Gateway Pundit we believe that our readers have the right to know where they are going when following a link. To that end we do not allow embedded links like Visit Here or shortened links (bit.ly for example). Please post just the bare link.

NOTE: Something that we see fairly often is a comment being sent for moderation because it contains a link when what has actually happened is that you forgot to put a space between a period and the next letter. Proofreading your comment will help to avoid that.

You’ve run afoul of the Disqus Spam Bot. Like all websites that utilize the Disqus platform for comments, we decide what can or cannot appear in our Comment section but Disqus also provides a Spam Bot that cruises the comments periodically looking for indications of spam. While we don’t know the entire algorithm that Disqus uses, some of the triggers are typing your comment in ALL CAPS or using strings of #&$%())R$ symbols or nonsense words. Once the Disqus Spam Bot has determined a particular user’s comments to be SPAM a certain number of times it will then send all of that person’s comments to the SPAM Bin. Sometimes we can retrieve them, sometimes we cannot and when/if we can get to it at all is very much a time thing. We cannot get you off the Spam list. Thus, it is best to avoid that Spam Bot in the first place.

Do realize that we have a very small Moderation staff. Sometimes your comment will be moderated almost immediately but at other times it might have to wait. Your patience is greatly appreciated.

The other question that we get fairly often is Why Was I Banned? (Note that these are the most common reasons, but this list is not all-inclusive.)

First, we NEVER ban anyone for their religious views or their political opinion.

Among the things that we always ban people for are DOXXING any individual (no matter how mad we all are) or any threat of violence, even one made in jest. Any suggestion of violent action will result in a permanent ban. These are potential legal issues. The last thing that we need are the boys from an alphabet agency showing up at the door. We also discourage conversations about guns (yes, we own them too) and comments such as “Lock & load.”

Because we strive to maintain a family-friendly, work safe environment we have a strict No Profanity policy. Any use of the C or N words* will result in a permanent ban, as will habitual profanity. The F-word* will buy you two weeks in the naughty chair. If you’ve accidentally used a milder but still objectionable word, your post will either be deleted or, if you are lucky, the moderator will simply remove the offending phrase, leaving an [Edited by Moderator] behind.

* We allow one exception to the no F, C or N word rule. That is if the word is used as part of a direct quote accompanied by a link to the original.

We expect our guests to respect other commenters and to play well with others. To that end we discourage flame wars. We do not have the time nor the inclination to determine who is “right” or who started it and we are not Kindergarten teachers. If you become involved in a flame war you can expect a ban ranging from 1-2 weeks, though in egregious cases the ban might be longer or even permanent.

In the same category are phrases such as “you morons”, “trumpsters” and the like. While we are a conservative site, we welcome other opinions as long as they are presented with respect. We expect that respect to extend to the President of the United States of America.

Other actions that we do not allow:

The use of multiple accounts or coming back with a new account after being banned.

Deliberate down voting or flagging of one particular individual. If you do not “like” another poster then block that poster’s comments and move on. WE run the boards here, not the mob, and do not allow mob actions and ganging up on others. This applies both to deliberately down voting someone or mass flagging all of an individual’s posts. You may think you’re being cute but what you’re really doing is wasting the moderator’s very limited time. If you engage in mass flagging you might very well find yourself banned instead of your target.

Sexually explicit comments. (If you wouldn’t say something in front of your grandmother then don’t say it here!)

Religious wars. Our nation was founded on Freedom of Religion. You have a right to your own particular religious beliefs – and so does everyone else. Your beliefs are between you and your God, whoever that might be. Be aware that while most of our Commenters are “Christian”, we have guests from all over the world professing every religion or none. We are not going to fight the Protestant Reformation again in our Comments section. Save that for comment boards with a religious focus.

Antisemitism. Any comment that refers to the Rothschilds or sounds like the second coming of Hitler or the Protocols of the Elders of Zion or BDS-syndrome will earn you a permanent ban.

Racism

What You Can Do To Help:

Give other commenters the same respect and consideration you want for yourself.

Think before you hit that post button. No matter how mad you are, if you break one of our cardinal rules you may lose your commenting privileges. Once gone, we do not often restore them.