Have you noticed youโre able to comment on PTR articles again? Thatโs right, we brought comments back!
The amount of spam we were intercepting made it difficult to moderate comments effectively, but doggone it, we missed connecting with you. We love hearing your thoughts on the products weโre talking about, your suggestions for content, feedback on how weโre doing, and answering the questions you have.
However, itโs still the internet, and we have to set some expectations. This is a family-friendly website after all. So, to make sure youโre able to engage and be a productive member of PTR Nation, here are a few guidelines to help us establish a positive community:
- Ask Questions: We donโt have a 24/7 chatbot, but we do read every comment and try to respond as quickly as we can. Weโre here to help!
- Help Each Other: We all want to be more accomplished and informed tool users.
- Offer Specific Feedback: Product teams from most brands read not only our content, but also the comments. If you know something specific that can help them improve a product, let them know. Nicely, please.
- Stay on Topic: Youโre welcome to your opinion about any and every topic in the world, but the title of the article should be an easy way to know what the conversation is about.
- Help Us Improve: We genuinely want to know what products youโd like us to talk more about, how we can improve our formats, and generally do a better job at getting you the information you need.
Below are the most common reasons that get comments declined or deleted. We block abusive commenters.
- Skip the Cursing: If you feel like you really need to make the point, use some asterisks instead of that ******* word we wouldnโt want our kids reading (or repeating to their Sunday school teachers).
- Personal Attacks Are Never Okay: Itโs okay to disagree, but the behavior of middle schoolers and elected federal officials isnโt an example of how we should strive to act toward each other.
- Zero Tolerance for Spam/Sneaky Backlinks/Affiliate Links: Dropping a comment for the sole purpose of sneaking in links to promote yourself or someone else is a sure way to get blocked. Links that are genuinely beneficial to the conversation are okay. (Tracking links are very easy for us to spot, by the way, so donโt go there.)
This isnโt an exhaustive list, and we reserve the right to delete comments on a case-by-case basis if they donโt meet our standards.
Personally, Iโm stoked for yโall to be able to engage with us on a story-by-story basis again. Itโs one of the highlights of the job.
See you in the comments!
