Comment Guide Lines

We depend on you, our readers, to make this site an interesting place to visit. That’s why we value your comments. However, we do reserve the right to edit comments for length and readability. (Long, rambling comments, in particular, are subject to editing.)

Posting according to the guide lines below will ensure that others will find your contribution worth reading:

Content

  1. All comments are expected to show Christian love and respect for other members of the list. Any post deemed to be unduly argumentative, caustic, or otherwise opposed to a spirit of friendly inquiry will be returned to the sender for revision. It is possible to disagree without being disagreeable.
  2. Since this is a Seventh-day Adventist list, comments that, in our view, appear to attack the Seventh-day Adventist church and/or its teachings may not be published. However, our policy leaves room for posts that critically analyze Seventh-day Adventist doctrines and/or policies pertaining to the Sabbath School. And honest questions are always welcome.
  3. Please discuss ideas, not people or a group of people. Any comments that have the effect of putting down another person — whether the author, any other person, or a group of people — will be edited or deleted.
  4. Please avoid making absolute statements that imply that you have divine insight into a situation. Instead, preface your points with, “It seems to me,” The way I see it,” “As I understand it ..” That sort of thing. Peter counsels us thus: “… all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility.” (1 Peter 5:5 KJV) Since others cannot hear our voice or see our body language, this humility needs to be demonstrated in the words we use.
  5. Sharing of your personal experience is always welcome. (This does not, however, give license to violate points 1-3.)
  6. Please comment on the subject of the entry. Give reasons for your agreement or disagreement with the entry. Off-topic comments may not be posted. We reserve the right to edit out off-topic portions of otherwise acceptable comments.
  7. Please read the whole post before commenting. Sometimes your concern may be addressed within the post itself. Also make an effort to read previous comments. Otherwise you may make a points which have already been dealt with earlier.
  8. In an argument we ask you to avoid quoting contemporary authors as authority to back up your opinion. Please state your argument in your own words, and let the argument stand or fall on its own merits.
  9. You may link to other web sites, but if the website is out of harmony with our philosophy statement, the whole comment will be disallowed. (Note that the inclusion of a link may delay the publication of your comment for a day or longer.)
  10. Public comments on our moderation or what people should or should not say in our forum [meta comments] are not allowed. Contact us privately, if you have something to say on that topic.

Special note about the use of Ellen White quotations:

  • Please remember that our faith is based on the Word of God as found in the Bible. Base your arguments on the Bible, not the writings of Ellen White. This is in harmony with her own counsel.
  • “Comments” that consist merely of Ellen White quotations may be rejected. Please express your thoughts in your own words, even when you reference some Ellen White quotes.
  • “Ellen White says” or “the Spirit of Prophecy says” without proper documentation is generally discouraged, though there may be non-confrontational situations where such comments are acceptable.

Technical

  1. Please use your real names as much as possible and tell us from what part of the world you are writing. (Just makes things more real.) Using your real name adds credibility to your comments. (Comments without real names may be deleted because they may be mistaken for comment spam.)
  2. Valid email addresses are required in the comment form.
  3. No email addresses are allowed within comments. This is for your protection. Any statement that contains an email link will be deleted.
  4. Please use sentence case. DO NOT WRITE IN ALL CAPITALS. (Posts written in all capitals are hard to read and may be deleted.)

Notes

  • We do not write or edit the Sabbath School lesson quarterly. Please go to the Adult Bible Study Guide site and use their Contact Form if you want to say something to the editors.
  • Once your comment is published, it will stay public for a while, but we may delete some comments on older posts. For instance, it’s nice to get a warm pat on the back for a post, but if it doesn’t add any content, we may not keep it in the archives, giving preference to comments with real content — whether negative or positive.

If you have suggestions to make regarding these guide lines, please use our contact form.

Happy Posting!