No ads. Requests to look at your site will be deleted. Spam of course is out of the question.
No outing. People occasionally have good reasons to hide their identities. I will delete efforts to disclose them.
Make sense. Non-sequitur remarks will be deleted.
Address the writing, not the writer. I want to hear what you have to say about the topic at hand, not what you have to say about your fellow contributors. Ad hominems, speculations about peoples' motives, critiques of their fashion sense, and the like will be deleted.
Advance the conversation. Think of the comments as a conversation with other real people. Pick a consistent handle (preferably your real name), aspire to eloquence, use good grammar, and mean what you say. Failing all else, agree to disagree.
Assume community. Even the most opposed factions in the art world still agree that art is important. Begin with that basis and respect other commenters accordingly. Abusive remarks, taunts, boorish language, and the written equivalent of behavior that would get you punched out in a bar will be deleted.
Make Franklin happy. I'm happy when we're having a good chat about art, or at least a good chat about something. I'm unhappy when I have to mop up interpersonal, legal, and HTML messes. I will delete comments that undermine my efforts to make this a clean, inviting intellectual commons, and above all, a good read.
Take the high road. When someone violates the guidelines, do not respond in kind, but follow the guidelines yourself. I will handle the violators. Vengeance is mine.
Thank you for your participation in Artblog.net. - F.