User guidelines keep discussions civil on newspaper's website

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Online discussion guidelines from the Galveston County Daily News:

The Galveston County Daily News considers the discussion of issues important to the general public. Use of the blogs, forums or live discussions for personal attacks will not be tolerated. Any such dialogue will be subject to removal from the site.

We reserve the right to restrict any communication which we deem to be harmful to individual members, damaging to the site's discussions, or in violation of the newspaper's rights or any third-party rights.

Comments are posted in public areas that we cannot screen in advance.

User Comment Guidelines

Membership. Each individual is allowed a single membership account. We encourage participants to use their real names and require a valid email address. Your first and last name will appear on the site with your user name. Misleading, promotional or offensive user names are not allowed.

You are solely responsible for any statements that are posted using your account. We reserve the right, but do not assume the responsibility, to restrict any material submitted under a false name or initials.

Stay on topic. Comments that stray from the topic may be removed.

Do not use obscene or offensive language. You may not post or link to any material that could be considered obscene, indecent, lewd, pornographic, violent, abusive, insulting, threatening, harassing, in violation of the law or that would constitute grounds for civil liability. Please be respectful of other members.

Submit only your original comments. Please do not republish stories or material for which you do not have the copyright or permission to distribute electronically, such as stories or articles from other sites. You may post a link instead, so long as it is not considered an advertisement. Make sure you attribute the source.

Do not solicit or advertise. Advertisements, chain letters, charity requests, petitions for signatures and any other commercial use or solicitation are prohibited.

Harassment and defamation. When a member targets another specifically to cause distress, embarrassment, unwanted attention or other discomfort, this is harassment. We do not tolerate harassment in any form and may suspend or terminate the accounts of any members who harass others.

You may have a disagreement with someone's point of view, but personal attacks, unfounded allegations, unreasonable argument, false and defamatory remarks or attacks based on a person's race, national origin, ethnicity, religion or gender will not be tolerated. Making accusations of illegality, posting personal information or violating the privacy of another individual will not be tolerated.

Please do not type your comments in ALL CAPS.

The Daily News cannot review every posting to the blogs or discussion forums, verify the accuracy of statements made by participants or determine whether the materials posted by participants violate the rights of others. Accordingly, you agree to assume full responsibility and liability for the content of your postings. We are not responsible or liable for statements or materials posted by readers.

We will periodically monitor the site and respond to reader violation reports. Any messages that, in our judgment, appear to violate the Dicussions Guidelines may be removed without notice. We reserve the right to remove any posting and limit or terminate access to anyone for any reason at any time.

If you encounter questionable comments or material posted by a reader, you are encouraged to contact the Site Manager.

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