Vote it up!

As an open forum for conversation, Digital Journal welcomes a critical analysis and debate of all topics. However, when debate turns into personal attacks or involves hate speech directed at an individual, race or religion we must step in to put a stop to it. This is not about censorship, it's about respecting your peers. The following are the rules and regulations that are mandatory for all future participation on Digital Journal:

Think of DJ as a Workplace
Citizens and Citizen Journalists work as colleagues. Personal attacks and hate speech directed at an individual, race or religion would absolutely never be tolerated in the real world and they are not welcome and will not be tolerated here.

You May Not...
Make personal attacks or use derogatory names directed at any individual member, race, ethnicity or religion (this includes both comments and user contacts through the site). Users are not permitted to personally attack others. While we encourage debate on all topics including crime, politics, religion and science, users will not be permitted to make foul remarks, or single out an individual member, race or religion with derogatory or racist comments. Debate should focus on the topic, but when it becomes a personal attack on someone's beliefs or character, Digital Journal moderators will intervene and act accordingly. You are free to debate issues in a civilized fashion.

Consequences
If any Citizen or Citizen Journalist breaks any of the above rules, his/her account may be suspended for one week, and he/she will be blocked from signing in, voting or making comments. Citizen Journalists who break the rules may have their writing status revoked on first offence, depending on the severity of the issue.

If any Citizen or Citizen Journalist breaks the rules a second time, his/her account may be deleted.

Report Abuse
Every discussion has a "Report Abuse" link attached to each comment. This should be used to alert DJ Staff of any user breaking the above rules. Any offensive comment may be deleted and DJ Staff will take each complaint seriously. Considering the above rules, we will decide consequences on a case-by-case basis and depending on the severity we may simply delete the comment or suspend the user for more serious violations.

How to Debate Contentious Issues
If you disagree with an issue or statement made by another user, you should begin your comment by saying "I disagree..." followed by your reasoning. Stick to the issue and don't make any personal comments about the user with whom you disagree. Calling users names will result in your comment being removed and your account being suspended.

These rules will apply to everyone. Digital Journal members often come from a variety of backgrounds and beliefs, but everyone is welcome to sit at the same table to discuss and debate issues. It should, however, be done with respect. We are a family of nations.

This forum is designed to be fun and this code of conduct has been put in place to ensure the Digital Journal experience is positive for all contributors.

These rules may be updated at any time without warning so check back here often.