The Do's And Don'ts Of Commenting On This Site

Yes it is election time, but that does not mean the commentors on the Clinton Patch can turn into "The Mean Girls" movie characters.

Your opinion does matter to us - as long as it follows the terms of use for this site. (Remember? You agreed to them when you registered.)

Please also remember that "Letters to the Editor" are opinion pieces. Your opinion matters, too, as long as it follows the Terms of Use for this site.

The Clinton Patch has been officially "open for business" since early December, 2010. Since that time, we have had a steady stream of new visitors to the site. Our goal is to provide news, calendar events, happenings, a directory of services and businesses in town, and so much more to all of our readers, every day. We want the Clinton Patch to be your "go to" place for all things Clinton.

One of the services we provide is a way to "comment" on the site in general or on a specific article. In order to do so, everyone is required to sign-up and agree to the Terms of Use.

Things have gotten a bit out of hand on a handful of posts and yes, they were removed. One or two people have been suspended from posting on the Clinton Patch due to their inappropriate remarks which violated the Terms of Use. 

We want the Clinton Patch to be the shining example for all websites on the correct way to comment on an article or in general.

Let's use Betty White as an example.

Say Ms. White arrives in Clinton for a one-night, one-woman comedy show. It's held at Andrews Memorial Town Hall. The auditorium is packed.

Patch is there, of course, covering the event for those who could not attend.

Following the performance, an article and several photos appear on the Clinton Patch describing the event.

People comment.

Here are some examples of acceptable comments as they reflect the person's feelings but do not criticize or defame the performer:

"I liked the show, but I thought she was funnier as Rose on The Golden Girls."

"I probably wouldn't pay money and go see her again in a one-woman comedy show, but she sure is funny on that new show, Hot in Cleveland."

"I think I am too young (early 20s) to get most of her jokes, but other people in the audience sure laughed."

Examples of inappropriate comments that violate the Terms of Use and would be removed include:

"She's way too old and not f&%*$ing funny at all!  She should be home knitting like most grandmother's her age." (masking profanity and defamatory)

"What ding-dong hired her to come to Clinton? Stay in Hollywood - the land of drugs and plastic surgery, I say." (abusive)

"This show was awful! Betty White is like 110 years old! I heard she has gone through six husbands." (inaccurate and false)

"If she comes back for even a free performance, I'm going to see that her limo gets hauled back to California and it won't be pretty!" (threatening)

"Hey Betty - loved the show! Have I got a great time-share for you with water views! Just call me at 555-1212 and I'll show you the lifestyle of your dreams. Hurry up - this great deal ends at 5pm today." (advertising and solicitation)

You get the picture...

Here are the terms of use for all to see.

Thanks for reading and understanding. Let's make the Clinton Patch the best Patch not only in Connecticut, but in the country!

Patch Terms of Service

While we encourage people to be honest and post what’s on their mind, there are some types of content that we simply can’t allow on Patch. We’ll go over some of the prohibited items below, but these are merely examples and the list is not intended to be exhaustive.

We understand that everyone has different opinions, but Patch will make the sole determination as to whether Content is acceptable for the Service. (Someone has to be in charge, right?) Without limitation, you agree that you will not post or transmit to other users anything that contains Content that:

• is defamatory, abusive, obscene, profane or offensive;
• infringes or violates another party's intellectual property rights (such as music, videos, photos or other materials for which you do not have written authority from the owner of such materials to post on the Service);
• violates any party’s right of publicity or right of privacy;
• is threatening, harassing or that promotes racism, bigotry, hatred or physical harm of any kind against any group or individual;
• promotes or encourages violence;
• is inaccurate, false or misleading in any way;
• is illegal or promotes any illegal activities;
• promotes illegal or unauthorized copying of another person's copyrighted work or links to them or providing information to circumvent security measures;
• contains “masked” profanity (e.g., F@&#)
• contains software viruses or any other computer code, files or programs designed to interrupt, destroy or limit the functionality of any computer software or hardware or telecommunications equipment; or
• contains any advertising, promotional materials, "junk mail," "spam," "chain letters," "pyramid schemes," or any other form of solicitation.