PlanetF1.com’s rules of engagement for the comment section

With our new comment section up and running, we are setting out some ground rules for what is and isn’t okay to be posting.

Hopefully by now you will all have gotten used to our new comment section and come to realise that it is much better than the previous version but the new system has highlighted some familiar old problems.

Rules of engagement for PlanetF1.com’s comment section

The goal of PlanetF1.com is to get fans talking but in a way that does not resort to name-calling or abusive language. We all love F1 here so let’s try and keep it civil.

The new system allows us to take a closer look at moderating your comments and we are now able to establish some ground rules for everyone to follow. Fall foul of these and do not be surprised to see a ban coming your way.

Be civil

An obvious place to start is – be civil. Yes you may disagree with someone or not like the same driver/team/whatever but restoring to name calling or abusive language is not something we will stand for.

Do that and your comment will be disabled, keep doing it and you will be banned.

Don’t abuse drivers or teams

We are sure every driver and team has better things to do than reading the site but that does not mean we should treat them without respect.

It is absolutely fine to think a driver is not very good and say as such but let’s leave out the personal insults shall we?

Oh, and mentioning ‘cult’ will see your comment now automatically disabled.

Trust us, we are not biassed against your team

No human being is without bias but I can promise everyone reading that the writers on the site do not have a bias against your favourite team/driver. It’s our job to fairly report on all 10 teams and we like to think we achieve that.

Also on the subject of British bias, it may surprise some of you to know that almost 50% of the site are not even from the UK. And even the ones who are don’t have any bias towards a particular driver or team from the country.

No homophobia, racism etc

One thing we have no patience for is any kind of derogatory language used about anyone. If we think your comment fits into any of those brackets, a ban (most likely permanent) will be coming your way swiftly.

Don’t abuse the flag system

Already in the first week of it being an option, we have seen the flagging tool be abused by some users. This is there for you to help us spot comments which are genuinely rule-breaking, not for if you don’t like what is being said.

Excessive flagging without cause will get you a ban.

Don’t be a d**k

There will be some of you that have read through these rules and think you can still get around them so as a catch all, just don’t be a d**k.

None of us got into F1 to be sorting out pointless arguments over the internet. Enjoy the racing, enjoy the community and enjoy debating with fellow fans without being a d**k about it.

The road ahead for PlanetF1.com

Hopefully these ground rules set out what we want to achieve with the site and of course there will be individual cases that crop up from time to time that we will need to sort. I’d suggest everyone use the flagging system when appropriate to help us clean up this place and if you think something is still not being handled, you can email me at sam.cooper@planetsport.com and I will look into it.

But for now, enjoy commenting and here’s to a great end of the season!