Common Policy Questions

Back to the Policies Overview

Why don't you tell us everything about a policy violation?

This protects the privacy of the violators, the targets of the violation, and those who reported the violation.

For instance, say someone reports an abusive email to us. If we were to make everything public, there would be a lot of personal information displayed in public, and the sender and/or their friends could use the information to identify and attack the person who reported the email.

This works both ways. For example, if we notify someone of a violation, and they always follow the rules from then on, they should be able to continue writing without having anyone attack them for their one violation.

Why don’t you tell us who reported a policy violation?

It doesn't make any difference. People need to take responsibility for their actions. This is about a violator's bad behavior, not about “who told”. If you care more about "who told" than what the violator did, you're missing the point.

Also, bystanders need to be able to report abusive behavior while remaining anonymous, so that friends of the violator do not target them. That’s how things often work in the real world, and that’s how they work on Blogit.

Do you read the blog entries/comments that were reported before taking action?

Yes. We take as much time as we need to, so that we can make the right decision.

Don’t people get warned before they’re suspended?

Yes. We’re not into suspending people without warning. (However, if they're doing something like creating a new account after being suspended, there's no point in warnings.) Ask around; there are other members on Blogit who have received warnings without being suspended.

You didn’t tell someone what he or she did wrong.

We always send email regarding a violation, identifying the relevant blog entry/comment and the problem. Always. People asked us to, so we do. If the member emails us back, we answer their questions as specifically as possible.

If there’s something more we can do, let us know. Include specifics.

I didn’t see anything the person wrote that was a violation.

You might not. For example, we’ve suspended people in the past for repeatedly spamming Blogit members via email. Although there’s nothing visible on the site, we’re not going to let them keep spamming.

If the relevant content was posted, the author or Blogit staff may have deleted the content.

I don’t think what the person did should be a violation.

In that case, please let us know how the Conduct Policy should be changed. We’re always looking for ways to improve it. That’s how the Conduct Policy came about in the first place – through questions and suggestions from people on Blogit.

You were wrong to suspend someone.

We really, really hate to suspend people. However, suspending someone is typically about protecting others from that person, whether they’re passing others’ work off as their own, being abusive to others, or anything else.

We only suspend someone when we’re forced to because of their actions. We try to use a “three strikes and you’re out” approach, so they get plenty of warning.

Again, people need to take responsibility for their actions. Just as in real life, it's easy to blame us or the person who reported the violations, but much harder to face the fact that you (or your friend) might be doing something wrong.

Some (or many) people don’t agree with your decision, so you should reverse it.

Sometimes, a decision is popular; sometimes, it’s not. All that matters are the facts and the process, not whether or not the decision will be popular. That’s how it should be.

The rules are there to protect everyone, not just those who are popular, aggressive or have vocal friends.

You can read the policies and the process we follow for reviewing possible violations. Have suggestions for changing them? Please tell us.

I'm scared I might accidentally violate Blogit policy. How do I keep from doing that?

It's pretty simple: play nice. For details, here’s a link to all of the policies.

Don't worry too much. In our experience, the people who are most concerned about violating policy are usually the ones who never do.

Do you monitor all of the blog entries and comments?

No. This is not a moderated network. Perhaps we'll provide ways for people to act as moderators in the future if people request that.

I think you should monitor all of the blog entries and comments.

There are lots of blog entries and comments on Blogit, and we don’t have the resources to monitor all of them. Perhaps that will change in the future, but it’s not the case right now.

I read something that violates Blogit policy. Should I let you know?

Yes, please. Here’s how to contact us.

Since one person was suspended, I think someone else, who’s also violating Blogit policy, should also be suspended.

Please contact us regarding this person. If you give us links to relevant blog entries/comments, we can review it more quickly.

We don’t always get a report about each person who is violating Blogit policy. If you see something that should be reported, please let us know.

I reported someone and they weren’t suspended. Why not?

We may have made the decision to send them a warning, which is often the right thing to do. We don’t suspend someone unless there’s no other choice, e.g. if we’ve issued repeated warnings without effect.

If you feel like a member is repeating his or her past behavior, please let us know. If appropriate, we’ll take further action.

I don’t think Blogit is consistent in applying policy.

We do our best to be as consistent as possible, and always follow the review process described on the Policy Violations help page. Keep in mind that although we try to be as objective as possible, you may or may not agree with our decisions.

If you feel like a member is repeating his or her past behavior, please let us know. If appropriate, we’ll take further action.

Do suspended members receive a refund and any earnings that are due to them?

Yes. A refund is issued for the unused portion of the subscription, prorated on a monthly basis. And earnings are paid to them as outlined in the Withdrawing Earnings help page.

Do suspended members lose all their writing?

No. We recently put in place a system that allows us to send them their writing. In future, they will be able to save it themselves.

Blogit is not a backup system, so we recommend that all members back up their writing. While we have invested in making sure that the Blogit network keeps your writing safe, and that there are redundancies, there could be an unforeseen technical problem at our hosting company that might delete your writing. Please be safe rather than sorry.

Do you ever reinstate suspended members?

No. We have found from past experience that reinstated members continue their original behavior, so suspension doesn’t seem to help.

I’m a paying customer so I have a right to verbal abuse towards Blogit staff members, and it will make them take me seriously.

No. Remember, the Blogit team is made up of real people who are working hard to make Blogit better. Verbal abuse won’t help.