To our readers:

In late September, as noted in a post by Brady, we changed our commenting policy and added features that enable our readers to rate comments, so that those from people who consistently disrupt or deflect conversations with comments not germane to the topic, persistently argue the same points over and over, or use abusive or threatening language can be easily identified. We have tried to develop a sensible plan of warning repeat offenders before banning them, as we prefer to allow wide latitude for the open expression of ideas and for communities engaged on the site to be true to who they are.

Recently, we received communications from a long-time reader that a regular commenter on our site, who has been consistently rated as a troll, threatened the reader with physical violence.  The offending party implied knowledge of where the reader lived and “tracking” the reader down. The offending party also posted notes on other sites calling for other anti-choice and so-called men’s rights advocates to visit–or more precisely, troll–Rewire and counter-rate the comments on the site so that offensive posts are not marked as trolls.

We do not and will not tolerate threats to any individual or person.  We have taken the step not only of banning this person, but all the persons whose screen names were included as “supporters” in the offending person’s posts on other sites asking people to troll Rewire.

We will now consistently ban anyone who receives a low rating from other readers over a period of time.  We also will take appropriate action in cases where this might be needed to consult with authorities, should we find our readers encountering threats.

Threats, threatening, abusive, or demeaning language are not acceptable on our site.  There is a line between vigorous, even passionate debate, and abuse, threats and intimidation.  We will not tolerate any of these.

Jodi Jacobson