Comments Policy

We value live, substantial, interesting and informative user comments. Our goal is for comments to add to the discussion and add value to ArkansasBusiness.com news articles, blog posts and other content, thereby contributing to a great user experience.

To that end, we've created a quick list of comment guidelines we'd like you to observe. Comments that don't meet these standards may be removed, and commenters may be banned from the site. We appreciate any feedback and suggestions you might have about comments, our processes and policies; you can e-mail them here.

  • Avoid personal attacks or threats. Those comments will be removed and/or not accepted. Instead, keep criticism constructive.
  • Avoid profanity, vulgarity and obscenity. Those comments will be removed and/or not accepted. Profanity includes anything beyond what you might hear in a G-rated film (you know the words we're talking about).
  • Stay on topic. Keep comments relevant to the issue or news at hand. Don't veer too far off the reservation.
  • Tell the truth. Don't spread gossip or outright lies. Keep it real.
  • Know when to comment and when to e-mail. Have a general site issue or criticism that extends beyond the topic at hand? You can always e-mail the individual writers and editors here.
  • Make the tone of your message clear. Sarcasm is hard to detect in print. So be as clear as you can about what you mean. If you're just kidding or being sarcastic, you probably should simply say so.
  • Be succinct. Often, shorter is better.
  • Cite sources when necessary. You can hotlink to Web pages. Otherwise, when applicable, just tell us where you read/heard/received your information.
  • Don't post when angry or drunk. Take a deep breath first. Think it over. Once it's up, you can't take it back.
  • Don't engage antagonists. If someone gets through who's off-topic, hateful or who otherwise violates our policies, use the "report abuse" link or e-mail us here. Don't comment to them. Simply report and ignore.
  • Avoid unsupportable statements of fact; don't make accusations you can't back up.

Note that ArkansasBusiness.com, Arkansas Business Publishing Group or any of our companies make no claims to the accuracy or content of comments. Comments are the responsibility of the commenter and the commenter alone. Users who violate our terms and policies may be suspended or banned from commenting.

For more on how to give good comment, check out Lifehacker's Guide to Weblog Comments.