ABOUT the Successful English Comment Policy

Successful English is my classroom. Every good teacher has classroom rules to make sure that everything that happens in the classroom contributes to the students’ learning. This comment policy is my set of rules for conversations – or comments – here at Successful English. I want every visitor to have a good experience and all of our conversations to be as helpful as possible.

Comments are always welcome on Successful English posts. In fact, they’re encouraged. However, to be sure they contribute to my goals for this site, I will moderate all comments. In other words, I will read and approve them before they appear on the site. If necessary, I will edit them before I approve them. When I edit a comment, I will try hard to keep the writer’s original words and ideas.

It should go without saying, that comments are expected to be polite, even if – or maybe I should say especially if – disagreements are expressed.

A good, acceptable comment will:

• be personal.
• be on topic and contribute something to the post topic and those who read it.
• not promote, or appear to promote, a web site, service, or discussion group. If there is something you think I should be aware of, send me an e-mail. If I decide to promote it, it will appear in a Spotlight post.
• be more than a one-line comment, such as “Great idea!” As much as we all like to receive compliments, this kind of comment does not contribute anything to the overall discussion and often only serves to promote the person leaving the comment. Take time to explain why or how or….

Situations not specifically described in this statement will be handled on a case by case basis.

Thank you very much.

Warren Ediger
warren [at] successfulenglish [dot] com