We are committed to fostering an environment characterized by generosity, creativity, and (as corny as it might sound) kindness.  Comments on this blog are an important part of creating that environment, and this comment policy aims to communicate our values to new readers and encourage comments that will build up the online community here.

Thoughtful comments (even when--and often especially if--disagreeing) are encouraged and appreciated.

No snark allowed (see David Denby on definition of snark).  While snark certainly has its virtues, this blog provides a space for people to be inexperienced at something, or even wrong, to facilitate learning.  That's harder to do in the face of either persistent or "drive-by" snark.

Profhacker should be a community built through regular contributions made by recognized--but not necessarily "real name"--contributors.  Some commenters' identities reveal their real names; other commenters use pseudonyms.  Our online identities are built from our comments here and our presence--as commenters and authors--in other places on the web, in print, at conferences.  Profhacker welcomes commenters--whether anonymous, psuedonymous, or publically identified--who are committed to creating a rich and respectful dialogue.  We want commenters to be able to explore the complexities of Profhacker posts; we want commenters to inquire and debate; we want everyone to be able to learn from the conversation.

Links & images are encouraged. Gratuitous linking back to your own site is discouraged. Links in the "website" field should point only to profile pages or to personal websites.

Gravatars are strongly encouraged.