Comment Policy and Moderation

Q: What is My Cult Life’s Comment Policy?

(I) My Cult Life welcomes all users to join the community and to comment and treats all members of the community equally.

We welcome commenters of all backgrounds and ideologies. We never delete an appropriate comment solely because we disagree with its viewpoint or ideology, and we do not publish an inappropriate comment because we agree with or support its viewpoint or ideology.

We also do not tolerate ad hominem attacks of any kind. (Ad Hominem: Appealing to one’s prejudices, emotions, or special interests rather than to one’s intellect or reason. Attacking an opponent’s character rather than answering his argument.)

(II) My Cult Life was created for survivors of the cult-life, and those who’ve been victims of spiritual abuse. We want My Cult Life to be home to open, transparent conversations in which people connect, discuss, share their stories, and most importantly feel safe while doing so.

We encourage and respect comments from those who’ve had a different experience from the author, or blogger, but we do not tolerate comments that attack, or belittle the author or blogger. This includes, but is not limited to insults of the person’s character, relationship with God or spirituality, or the like. This community was developed to educate others on the cultlike behavior of Master’s Commission and Our Savior’s Church. The sensitivity of the subject almost begs for people to be angry, frustrated and feel “called” to attack the writers of this site. Sometimes courtesy and respect completely disappear, and commenters forget to have manners. We do not post comments that we feel are disrespectful to our readers and writers.

We must respect our writers and protect them from vicious and inflammatory comments. They too are entitled to free speech- the right to share their opinions without being subject to scathing and mean-spirited remarks. As the moderator to this sight, we reserve the right to delete or moderate any comment or remove any person who doesn’t maintain a respectful attitude toward the author of this site, or toward the victims of abuse.

(III) We are also committed to maintaining a non-toxic atmosphere.

As such, we do not allow hate speech, nor do we allow speech that advocates or supports hatred or unlawful violence. We do not allow racism, sexism, homophobia, anti-Semitism, or other intolerance. Likewise, threats of violence or threats to anyone or any group’s personal safety are not acceptable.

We do not allow comments that criticize others based on physical appearances or mental characteristics. We do not allow comments that celebrate the death, illness, or personal loss of any person.
(IV) In order to preserve a functional and civil conversation, we do not allow trolls, trollish behavior, or stalking.

We do not allow speech that is solely intended to provoke other users, to cause disorder or confusion, or to inhibit regular, on-topic conversation. We reserve the right to deny commenting privileges to internet trolls.

We also do not tolerate stalking. This includes posting personal information about another community member, pursuing another member from thread to thread in an attempt to harass, deliberately misquoting or lying about another member, copying a username in order to embarrass or harass another member, or unwelcome sexual advances toward another member. In addition, we do not tolerate lying about being a staff moderator or about communications with a staff moderator.

(V) Members of My Cult Life (MCL) community deserve to be free from spam, and we do not allow posting the same comment multiple times within one thread or on multiple threads.

We also flag and delete all comments containing business solicitations or other advertising of personal interests, blogs, or websites. (A link to a personal blog is fine, but is subject to being deleted if it violates any of the above rules).

Spam includes comments that are off-topic. If off-topic conversation inhibits or prevents on-topic conversation, we consider it comment hijacking, and do not allow it. That said, we understand that MCL’s comment threads aren’t just about content. They’re also about conversation. And in natural conversation, people exchange pleasantries, greetings, congratulations, praise, and other social gestures. So we err on the side of facilitating an open conversation, even when that means permitting limited off-topic comments and conversation, as long as the comments don’t violate the policies above.

Q: I posted a comment. Why can’t I see it on the site?

A: There are two scenarios under which your comment may not appear:
1. It may be pending approval. Comments on the blog are moderated BEFORE they appear on the site, and this takes time. Since the volume of comments on the site has grown rapidly, there is often a delay between a comment being posted and it being approved, especially during peak hours. We appreciate your patience and ask that you refrain from posting the same comment repeatedly.
2. Your comment violated the policy above. We pride ourselves in providing a medium for engaging and thought-provoking stories and encourage our users to speak their minds freely, provided comments fall within our commenting policy. We must respect our writers and protect them from vicious and inflammatory comments. They too are entitled to free speech- the right to share their opinions without being subject to scathing and mean-spirited remarks.

Q: Why am I blocked from commenting on MCL?

A: There are a few scenarios under a comment might be blocked:
1. A comment is extremely abusive, off-topic, uses excessive foul language, or includes an ad hominem attack.
2. If a commenter has previously posted comments that are abusive, off-topic, used excessive foul language, or include ad hominem attacks, a MCL moderator may decide to ban the commenter’s IP address. This means the abusive commenter is banned from commenting on the site in the future, even if the later comments are not abusive.

Q: I posted a comment that included one or more of the following questions. Why was it deleted?

• If Master’s Commission and Our Savior’s Church was so bad, why did you stay?
• Don’t you know that you’re slandering pastors?
• Why did you choose to use names in this blog?
• Why are you spiritually attacking godly men and women?
• Or something related…

And some insults including:

• You’re not acting very Christian by writing this blog;
• You’re judging those pastors;
• You’re the Devil;
• You’re a Jezebel;
• You’re bitter;
• You’re angry;
• You’re fill-in-the-blank with numerous other accusations.

A: Most of these questions/comments are considered ad hominem attacks by the moderator and will not be posted. Additionally, most of these questions, comments and accusations have been answered on this blog; however, as I’m always in the process of improving the site, a Frequently Asked Questions page with all of the answers/responses to these will be accessible in the next few months.

Thank you for your cooperation in making this community one that we can share sensitive issues without feeling attacked, dear readers.