• Ask yourself if your comment adds value. If you find your only goal is to belittle, disparage, or otherwise denigrate the post or author, don’t submit your comment. Comments that do not add value will be deleted.
• Stay on topic. By all means, interact with the material. Tell us what you think about the topic and why.
• Disagreement is perfectly acceptable as long as you are civil. Be passionate but polite. For instance:
  • Exclamation points are fine! ALL CAPS ARE NOT.
  • Profanity is discouraged. Judicious use of strong language is acceptable.
  • No name calling.
• I am ambivalent about links and signatures, if your comment is relevant. Keep in mind my blog is not here to advertise yours (unless you are compensating me in some way – email me, we’ll working something out). Spam will always be deleted.
• Comments are moderated by me. First time comments are reviewed to prevent spam. I try to do this as quickly as possible. Subsequent comments are reviewed but should post automatically. I reserve the right to edit, change, or delete portions or all of your comment if it does not comply with this policy. I will not change the meaning of what you wrote.
• Limit your length. In most cases, your comment does not need to be longer than my post. Consider 250 words or so a good guideline. Choosing your words well will likely strengthen your argument. If you want to post a longer thought, consider publishing on your own blog then posting an excerpt and link in the comments.

If we all follow these few rules I am convinced we can have a productive and meaningful discussion.

I am indebted to the following pages as inspiration for good examples of blog comment policies:

• Optiniche
• Problogger

1. Regular posts - Blogging is a lot harder than it looks especially when dealing with such important subjects. My initial goals for posting were way too idealistic leading me to not post anything at all sometimes. Turns out this is common for blogging novices. In 2010, I resolve to post something substantive at least once a week.

2. More links – I also hope to include at least one post per week of links to articles that interest Christians. There is a lot of good information out there that Christians of any persuasion should be reading if they want to keep up with the political discourse. Part of the goal here is to serve as a place to find that information.

3. Different perspectives – I’ve enlisted the help of several of my friends who I believe have insightful things to say about the political universe from a Christian perspective. While they all agree on the fundamentals of the faith they do not agree on everything. In fact, if they ever met in real life I could not guarantee a happy result. But that’s what I like about it.

4. More discussion – Hopefully as we progress we will generate a larger audience from both sides of the aisle. I hope to provide interesting content relevant to Evangelicals interested in politics. The last election showed they are looking for a different kind of engagement in politics, no longer willing to support rather blindly one party. While I’m a conservative politically and religiously and will advocate conservative policies and values, I recognize the two are not always compatible. That should give us plenty to talk about.

5. Better discussion – Politics and religion are taboo subjects for a reason. They generate a lot of heat. Discussion on this site should be marked by a mutual respect for others while remaining open enough to allow for vigorous debate. Some of the recent discussions have been less than edifying on both ends. Let’s agree to offer mutual respect going forward.

6. Book reviews – As a way of offering resources to Christians I am hoping to start reviewing books germane to our subject matter. Look for that coming in the first quarter.

7. Humor – Be funny. I’m too serious about this stuff. One of the charming things about me is my sense of humor. It never seems to come out in political and religious conversations, for some reason. That’s got to change.

Well, there it is. That’s what’s on my mind for RevNev.com. I’d love to hear what you think. What suggestions do you have for the site? What would make it easier to navigate? What kinds of issues are you interested in seeing discussed? Leave a comment below.

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