Rules of engagement: A plea for less anger, more focus in the comments

Reluctantly, I have concluded it is time to set out a few guiding principles on commenting, so we are all on the same page

Till now, I have maintained a very light touch in monitoring the comments and discussions below each article. Policing discourse isn’t something I like doing, not least because, as a journalist, I have myself faced more than a quarter of a century of discourse policing – first by editors in the corporate media and then by the algorithmic constrictions of social media.

However, I am aware there are downsides to a hands-off approach. It attracts trolls. Indulging bad behaviour encourages a small number into ever greater abuses. That can make the site uncomfortable for those who don’t like being verbally abused, which is most of us. And finally, and selfishly as the “owner” of this page, it can prove a time drain responding to the same kind of criticisms and misrepresentations, often from the same people, each time I post. It’s not a good use of my time.

So, I am setting out here a few guiding principles – and a few expectations of commenters – in the hope of encouraging a more focused discussion section and serving as a warning to the worst and most persistent offenders of potential repercussions.

This article may evolve, depending on the feedback. If appropriate, I will add updates. Also, if you want to vent against me, this is your safe space to do it.

So here goes:

1. No one should arrive here assuming they have a god-given right to have their voice heard. That includes me, though inevitably I have more of a say here than you do, given that it’s my Substack page. Yeah, I know: life ain’t fair.

We don’t have to agree but we should all expect a bare minimum of good-faith engagement and reasonable manners.

If anyone needs help understanding what this means in practice, think of it this way. You are a guest in my home – and a very welcome one at that, as long as you don’t put your feet on the table, start cursing me or the other guests, or throw your weight around.

If your friends allow you to behave that way in their homes, then I suggest you find an online equivalent. My Substack page isn’t that place.

2. Please stay on topic. If I want to host a discussion on the standardisation of measurements in Anglo-Saxon Britain, I will alert you to the fact – by writing about it.

3. Please do not generalise about groups based on their physical or ethnic characteristics. If you think you have spotted some generalising quality about Muslims, or Jews, or any other ethnic group, seek out a different Substack. I’m sure they exist.

That restriction does not apply to ideologies, such as conservatism, socialism, Zionism, Islamism etc. It is reasonable, even warranted, to have opinions on general features or beliefs in these ideological movements.

4. I am happy to be criticised but please, for the sake of my blood pressure, don’t tell me what to write, or gripe that I write about things you don’t think are important. Go write it yourself or find a different writer who shares your interests. (Alerting me to topics or events I may not be aware of is something else entirely.)

5. Please don’t comment: “Everybody already knows this.” Why state something that’s not only tiresome but so obviously untrue? Or insist that I offer solutions to the problems I highlight in my articles. I’m a writer and analyst, not a politician, scholar, inventor, think-tank or guru.

6. I have a particular beef with those who misrepresent my beliefs, views or opinions, whether intentionally or not. If you want to level an accusation against me, please back it up with evidence. Cite the article or interview where I supposedly said the thing you claim I said.

7. Please don’t tell me my articles are too long. I don’t write long articles for the sake of it. They are time-consuming and difficult to produce. I write as much as I believe the subject matter deserves for it to be properly understood.

The billionaire-owned media intentionally manufacture a thick fog around issues that are most likely to damage their class interests. Dispersing that fog is no simple matter. It cannot be done in soundbites. It requires sustained deconstruction, stripping away the layers of misinformation and disinformation, and adding the context and background that have been omitted from “mainstream” discussions.

I also understand that not everyone has the interest or attention span for my longer posts. Which is why I invariably post short extracts from these long articles that should be more digestible and can be more easily shared. Their purpose is to tempt people into reading the full articles. I publish extracts on Notes, X and Facebook.

8. Finally, remember that not everyone is in the same place of understanding you are. I write not just for committed revolutionaries, who already know that power structures are rigged to make the rich even richer and to keep the rest of us poor and docile. I also write for people who are on the long and often painful journey unlearning everything they were raised to believe.

I am still on that journey myself – and grateful to those ahead of me who guided me to my own deeper understanding of the world. In writing, I’m trying to pay it forward.

You may feel you are no longer in need of such assistance, but please don’t forget that there are likely to be friends and family only just beginning their own journeys, as the world grows ever darker from resource wars, economic collapse, authoritarianism and climate chaos. More and more people see the encroaching darkness and crave illumination. Our job is to pass them a torch.

Repeat breaches of some of these principles risk a short suspension or, in the case of the grossest violations, a permanent ban on commenting privileges. Rail against the “censorship” if you must, then either come back a less angry, more focused commenter or leave and find one of the many other places where you can express your opinions in the digital public square.

Now, it’s your turn…

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