The goal of the Berkeleyside comments policy is to help create a vibrant and civil space for conversation. Comments are reviewed by the editors. Berkeleyside reserves the right to delete or turn off comments at any time.

Share your knowledge, add to the conversation.

Make sure your comment relates directly to the story. Strive to improve the conversation. Comments are useful when they add a new perspective, nuance, expertise or even a proposed solution. If you’ve made your point, or many others have made it, please don’t repeat it. If you’re not sure your comment adds value, don’t post it. Use the Disqus menu below each comment to express your support with a single click. Read more about our approach and changes we have made over the years.

Be agreeable, even when you disagree.

  • Criticize ideas, not people. Provide reasoned counter-arguments that improve the conversation.
  • Avoid name-calling, ad hominem attacks or responding to a comment’s tone instead of its content.
  • Be civil. Meanness and intolerance are not tolerated.
  • Don’t post remarks that a reasonable person would consider offensive, abusive or hate speech.
  • Don’t post anything obscene or sexually explicit.
  • Don’t harass anyone, impersonate people or expose their private information.
  • Express yourself concisely: Don’t flood the feed with “hammer” posts. (If you’d like to make a longer, well-reasoned argument, submit an op-ed and we’ll be happy to review it.)
  • Don’t repeat what’s already been said or make broad observations that could apply to many stories.    
  • Don’t post spam or otherwise vandalize the forum.

Let us know who you are.

We ask that you post under your real name. It makes for a more transparent forum if people know who is contributing. However, if you have good reasons for staying anonymous, we ask that you pick a single handle and stick with it. Berkeleyside will block users found to be posting under multiple names.

Let us know what you think.

We welcome feedback about our comments policy. If you believe a comment violates the policy, please use the flag tool — we’ll get an automated alert — or email us at comments@berkeleyside.org. To keep discussions on topic, we do not allow moderation questions in the comments section itself. We do our best to respond to inquiries about the comments section.

Last updated May 13, 2022