The Wheat & Tares team has worked together over the years to bring you what we hope are some of the best Mormon internet discussions around. This kind of space doesn’t happen by accident, and it does require that commenters exhibit good (Wheat) behaviors more often than bad (Tare) behaviors. Like the parable, though, we prefer light moderation, letting the wheat and tares grow together until we can tell for sure which is which.
Please review the new and improved commenting policy to make this a wheatier site with meatier discussions: https://wheatandtares.org/our-commenting-policy/
Below is an outline of the revisions:
The following behaviors will get you in hot water:
- Personal attacks against others, including authors, commenters. (should we specify also not tolerated against church leaders & members, political figures, and others not present)
- Derailing discussions for hobby horse topics
- Trolling (starting fires), especially drive by trolling
- Sock puppets
- Inability to reach you over an inflammatory comment may result in being banned and comments removed
Wheat behaviors:
- Participate in the discussion, don’t just lurk!
- Move the ball forward.
- If you dislike a comment, explain your perspective
- If you like a comment, give it a thumbs up!
- Offer to guest post if you have something lengthy to say.
Tare behaviors:
- Personal attacks
- Derailing discussions for pet topics
- Writing a novel in the comments
- Using sock puppets to dogpile
- Trolling. Driving by. Not responding when our team reaches out to you.
- Setting fires, trying to stir up trouble without really engaging.
Thank you–
Wheatmeister
Good morning. Might one of your team tell me how a person can offer a “guest” narrative/thesis? Thank you.
Well said.
Though I have been reading and (some) commenting on blogs for 10+ years, I do not know what “Using sock puppets to dogpile” means. While I could Google the term, I much prefer to give the feedback/criticism that use of insider terms and abbreviations are inconvenient and irritating because of that inconvenience. I had to search out the meaning of TBM the first time I saw it on an LDS blog and there are some others as well–I don’t always take the time to research them. In those cases I probably didn’t understand the post as well as I could have. And I don’t blame the blog if comments use abbrevs that this old man doesn’t understand.
In this instance, what is the meaning of “Using sock puppets to dogpile?”
It means signing in under a bunch of different names (your sockpuppets) and leaving comments to make it appear like a whole bunch of people agree with you. It doesn’t work and you get caught because the admins can see your IP address.
Is it still sock puppets if you sign in under a bunch of names and leave comments to make it appear that you are having a good old-fashion knock-down argument?
Bruce (or anyone who would like), you can contact any of the permas to write a guest post. Feel free to email me at mormon heretic at gmail dot com.
Kullervo: Got it. Thanks.
LOL, Mike (this is not Mike’s sock puppet).