Scope
This policy covers participation in every space connected to our journalism — our website, our official social media accounts and any other platform we operate or host, whether digital or physical, including live events, forums and community gatherings. It applies whenever interactions relate to our published work.
Our aim
We want these spaces to be places where readers find informed, constructive and intelligent discussion of the stories we publish and of civic issues more broadly. We moderate with that goal in mind, guided by context. The aim is to maintain boundaries without stifling debate. These guidelines protect conversation; they do not suppress viewpoints.
Community standards
— Be clear, and assume you may be misunderstood. Tone, sarcasm and humor do not always travel well on a screen. Make a reasonable effort to say what you mean, and keep a reasonable tone even in unreasonable circumstances.
— The platform is ours; the conversation belongs to the community. Help by reporting comments that appear to violate these standards and by contributing in ways that make discussion more useful and inviting. Moderation is a shared effort.
— Keep it relevant. Comments should relate to the article, the issue or the conversation at hand. Off-topic or merely dismissive comments may be removed. Questions about moderation should come to us privately, not in threads.
— Debate and dissent are welcome; personal abuse is not. Disagree strongly with our reporting, another commenter or a public official, but do not use our platforms for insults, ad hominem attacks, trolling, baiting, abuse or harassment. We moderate behavior, not viewpoint.
— Criticism is allowed; misrepresentation is not. We may remove comments that knowingly or recklessly misstate what our reporting says, attribute motives to our journalists as fact or otherwise misrepresent us in ways that undermine fair discussion.
— No hate speech or identity-based attacks. We will not tolerate hate speech, or comments that could reasonably be read as such — including slurs, dehumanizing language and the denial or mockery of someone's identity, such as deadnaming or deliberate misgendering. We protect people from attacks based on race, color, ethnicity, national origin, immigration status, religion, sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, family status, pregnancy, disability or chronic illness, neurodivergence, appearance or body size, age, socioeconomic or housing status, veteran status or any other protected or marginalized characteristic. Criticizing a government, institution, policy or public official is welcome; attacking people for who they are is not.
— Consider the impact of your words. We may remove comments a reasonable person would find offensive, threatening, intimidating or demeaning. Respect other people's views and beliefs.
— We may intervene in flame-wars. If a thread descends into bickering, hostility, threats or toxic back-and-forth that crowds out useful discussion, we may redirect, curtail, close or remove it, including clusters of comments that have degenerated into fighting.
— We will remove content that creates legal risk. This includes, but is not limited to, libelous or defamatory statements; unsupported accusations of criminal, unethical or abusive conduct, especially against private individuals; contempt of court or other interference with legal proceedings; copyright infringement; and unlawful or unsafe disclosure of private information.
— No spam, self-promotion or disguised commercial activity. We will remove advertising or solicitation; repetitive external links posted without engagement; coordinated efforts to push an agenda without substance; and commercial or political actors posing as ordinary individuals to influence conversation deceptively.
— Extra care for private individuals and minors. Because local journalism often involves people who are not public figures, we apply extra care when comments target private residents, children, students, victims, witnesses or people in sensitive school, health, housing or family matters, including any disclosure of addresses, contact details or family information. Comments tolerated in a national forum may still be removed here. We may also restrict accounts that impersonate others or manipulate discussion through coordinated or misleading behavior.
How we moderate
If a contribution appears to breach these standards, it may be removed. We cannot edit part of a comment, so if any portion violates these standards, the whole comment may be removed, along with replies and later comments that quote or continue it.
Depending on severity, pattern and context, we may leave a comment up, reply or redirect, remove it, issue a warning, suspend participation, close a thread or permanently ban a participant. Severe violations — threats, hate speech, doxxing, impersonation, repeated harassment or serious legal risk — may bring immediate action without warning.
Before acting, we ask: Is the comment engaging with an idea, article, institution or public action, or attacking a person? Would we make the same call regardless of which side it supports? Is this a one-time lapse, or a serious, persistent or willful pattern? A comment that is sharp but still about facts, ideas or public actions will usually remain; when the problem is the manner of engagement rather than the viewpoint, we may remove it.
These same standards govern our official social media accounts. Our staff may respond to criticism, clarify facts and correct misinformation, but will not use official accounts to escalate conflict or humiliate people. We reserve the right to hide, delete, restrict or report replies and participants when conduct violates these standards.
Questions and final note
Send questions or concerns about moderation to wdowd@marbleheadindependent.com rather than posting them in threads. We review concerns in good faith, but because Marblehead Independent is ultimately responsible for what appears on its platforms, moderation decisions are final.
Views expressed by commenters do not necessarily reflect those of Marblehead Independent, its staff or contributors. As a privately operated publication, we reserve the right to moderate, restrict, close or remove comments, threads and participation privileges to protect readers, staff, sources, subjects of coverage and the quality of discussion. Our goal is not to punish people for having opinions, but to host a space where people can participate productively, vigorously and safely.