Comments Policy

Before you comment, imagine the following…

You are seated in a comfortable chair at a table with all of the other commentators. You have gathered to discuss an issue of mutual concern, and you are aiming to learn something from the conversation. Take off your shoes if you’d like. Wriggle your toes. Appreciate the wonders of everyday life in the twenty-first century. On the table in front of you is your favorite beverage. Through the window is your favorite view. And seated next to you is a child, who you brought with you for a lesson on how to discuss various subjects—including controversial issues—with strangers. Are you imagining all of that? Okay, now you may be in the right mindset to comment.

But please read the rest of this before you do.

Daily Nous is an online space for philosophers, academics, students, and other interested parties to discuss news and issues related to philosophy and the philosophy profession.

People disagree about these things, and the discussions can get heated at times. Those participating should be able to distinguish between criticisms of ideas and arguments, on the one hand, and personally insulting rhetoric, on the other. Sometimes the latter can be disguised in the words used for the former, so please choose your words carefully. If you’re making a criticism, please do it kindly. And if your ideas and arguments are on the receiving end of criticism, please don’t take it personally.

Additionally, please note that, as with most conversations, discussion here goes better if its participants do a good job sharing the space. Sometimes, that means recognizing that you’re talking too much and that you need to step back.

More generally, let’s aim for more thoughtfulness and less obnoxiousness. Humor and lightheartedness are welcome. Just don’t act like a jerk. Thanks.

Comments at Daily Nous are moderated. The aim of comment moderation is to produce what, in my judgment, is a good discussion.

Here are a few further notes about comments at Daily Nous:

• All comments should be entered with a working and accurate email address. Your email address will not be published.
• It is strongly preferred that commenters use their real names (first and last) when commenting. If you choose to use a pseudonym, you must still submit a working email address. Again, email addresses are not made public.
• Pseudonyms may not contain the words “anonymous”, “anon”, or the like.
• Do not switch pseudonyms. Those found sockpuppeting will be banned. (If there are exceptional circumstances which require you to use a temporary handle, email me about it.)
• Note that comments may take a while to appear, especially if you are a first-time commenter or haven’t commented in a while, or if the commenting system detects your comment may need moderation. If it has been a few hours and your comment hasn’t been published, feel free to email me about it. It may have been mistakenly routed directly to the spam folder, which I do not regularly check.
• Regarding the use of artificial intelligence (AI) / large language model (LLM) tools like ChatGPT, Claude, and the like: Generally, please do not submit comments written in whole or in part by these tools.

That said,

• • • quoting the writing of these tools in order to discuss their outputs or capabilities, if relevant to the topic of the post, may be acceptable. If you do this, you should clearly identify the text as AI-generated and identify which tool(s) you used.
    • translation or minor editing of comments using AI tools or software that makes use of AI may be acceptable, provided that you clearly identify the text that was translated or edited by an AI tool and identify which tool(s) you used.

As I say above, Daily Nous is a space for philosophers, academics, students, and other interested parties to discuss news and issues related to philosophy and the philosophy profession. Discussion here is a social enterprise entered into on the expectation that our interlocutors are other persons interested in conversing about the topic under consideration, and that the words they are using are their own. I think that’s a reasonable and valuable expectation that helps contribute to the quality of the discussions here, and I want to protect it against behavior that would undermine it.

If you suspect a comment is AI-authored, please let me know about it by emailing me here, and I will take a look and, if I think you’re right, remove it. Please do not make such accusations in the comments thread, as doing so is not conducive to a good discussion atmosphere. Thank you.

Related: “On Moderation“; “Commenting Here: Some Advice“; “A Note On Making Discussions Here Better”