Every Web site has its own rules, and these are ours. If you break them, don't be surprised if we block your comments.
First things first: If you can't be polite, don't say it. Of course, we don't want to stifle discussion of controversial issues. Some topics require blunt talk, and we're not always going to agree with each other. Nonetheless, please try to disagree without being disagreeable. Focus your remarks on positions, not personalities. No name calling, slander, comments about someone's mother, comparisons to notorious dictators -- you get the idea. And under no circumstances should you post anything that could be taken as threatening, harassing, sexist or racist.
Don't use obscenities -- even if the word in question is often used in conversation. We're not going to list the words we object to; you know what they are. Remember, this is a public forum and we want everyone to feel comfortable participating.
Anything you post should be your own work. You're welcome to link to relevant content and to quote from other people's work with attribution. But that doesn't mean you can copy and paste wholesale.
Please stay on topic. Think of it this way -- if you hosted a book club meeting at your house, you wouldn't want someone to show up and insist on discussing reality TV shows.
Rambling is the kiss of death. We don't want to place a word count on how long your comments should be, but anything beyond a few paragraphs had better be very, very interesting to the larger community. We reserve the right to edit for brevity as well as clarity.
Please respect people's privacy. We love to learn about new and interesting individuals, but most people will not be happy to have their phone numbers or e-mail addresses published. If you need to share someone's contact information, please submit it through the Talking Plants contact form.
This is not a place for advertising, promotion, recruiting, campaigning, soliciting or proselytizing. We understand that there can be a fine line between discussing and campaigning; please use your best judgment -- and we will use ours.
If you want to know even more information on what is and isn't allowed on this forum, please CONTACT US HERE.
Thanks, and we look forward to the discussion!