Commenting Guidelines

English writer William Penn (1644-1718) once said, “In all debates, let truth be thy aim, not victory.” In alignment with this attitude, we at Margins of Truth are committed to sharing honest truth about a wide scope of topics. We are not trying to ruffle feathers or rally protestors. Instead, we are simply devoted to putting our thoughts and opinions out there, acknowledging that we don’t know everything and are willing to learn every day.

We hope that you—a fellow learner—will abide by our humble, truth-seeking philosophy and remain respectful when commenting.

In our day and age, it is easy to anonymously share honest thoughts and opinions on topics across the Internet. While there is a benefit to this, there is an equally powerful drawback. It is easier now than ever to engage in heated and disrespectful debates over perhaps trivial issues.

With this in mind, we have several commenting guidelines to protect all parties from uncalled-for Internet arguments.

1. We encourage you to be constructive with your comments. If you make a claim in your comment, please cite your source.
2. The quote (commonly misattributed to Socrates), “When the debate is lost, slander becomes the tool of the loser,” rings especially true in the digital age. Fired-up online debaters commonly lose their temper and begin lashing out at article authors and other online users if they are losing their argument (or just arguing their side in a flawed manner). All this achieves is demonstrating to others that the temperamental commenter is not mature enough for civil debate. Please don’t be that person. Comment respectfully.
3. Foul language does not befit an academic setting. Please refrain from using such language in comments.

By promoting these simple guidelines, we hope to foster a healthy environment that encourages constructive discourse and constant opportunities for learning.

Thank you for being a part of the Margins of Truth community! We’re happy to have you.