House rules for comments

Constructive comments – both supportive and critical – on articles on this website are welcome, including responses to others’ comments. However we would ask contributors to observe the following house rules or guidelines:

  1. You need not give your real name, but we require a valid email address so that we can contact you if necessary. Your email address will not be published or passed on to third parties.
  2. Comments should be relevant to the topic of the original article and should relate primarily to the UK.
  3. They should not introduce new topics unless closely related.
  4. One initial comment per article, but brief clarifications or responses to other comments are acceptable.
  5. Please avoid offensive language or abuse.
  6. We suggest an advisory word limit of 300 words. Anything over 500 words is likely to be edited or rejected.
  7. When submitting, in order to avoid spam, you may have to answer a simple arithmetic question.