Terms Of Use

these are my "house rules"...

As some of you have seen, my "Romanism" post got a whole lot of attention. I got lots of comments (many unfavorable), and many e-mails (which were again unfavorable, but mostly civil).

This situation made me realize something. A Pattern of Sound Words has grown quite a bit in the last few months; my site statistics have increased dramatically! With this increase in traffic comes the risk of internet trolls and a larger number of people who won't like what this blog stands for. Now trolls I don't tolerate, people who hang out here just to be a "nay-sayer" irritates me, but people who just want to express a disagreement with a specific post I have absolutely no problem with.

Now to help weed out the honest, respectful dissentor from the smart-alec or internet troll, Funky requested I post my blog's "dos and don'ts". I thought it was a fabulous idea.

So without further ado, here are A Pattern of Sound Words' Terms of Use:


1- No profanity or offensive language will be tolerated.

2- No inappropriate or vulgar subject matter.

3- Treat me and other commentors with respect and civility (even when you think they don't deserve it)

4- Contrary to most other blogs, my comment box is NOT to be used as a debate forum. Comment on the post, say your piece, then let it go; regardless of what I or another commentor may respond. If you want to go further, send an e-mail. If the commentor didn't give his e-mail, TAKE THE HINT!

5- Don't treat me like an idiot. My posts are prepared thoughtfully and prayerfully. If you don't believe that, tough!

6- Don't treat other commentors like idiots. If someone is being stupid, just ignore him/her. I'll deal with it if necessary.

7- I reserve the right to have "the last word" on all posts; this is, after all, MY BLOG.

8- I reserve the right to delete any comment that I feel violates these rules, as well as the right to ban any offender (not saying I always will, I believe in showing some grace).

9- Trackbacks: they will be judged on a case by case basis. For sure if you trackback one of my posts to a website that is contrary to the views of "A Pattern of Sound Words", I won't be too inclined to leave it there. That being said, I can show grace; especially if the trackback post is fair.


We'll leave it at that for now. If the need arises, I'll update the TOU.

I hope these "rules" won't discourage honest and kind comments. I really do value your input and am absolutely okay with a respectful dissention in my comments.

Well, all that is left now is to put this TOU to the test, and I believe the next post will do just fine, I'm afraid it'll be another controversial one.


Later,