Life in The Family International

Comment Policy

Yes, this is long. No, you don’t have to read it. No, if you don’t read it you can’t complain if your comment is deleted. Sorry.

LivetheCreed.com is an attempt to showcase what everyday life is like as a fulltime active missionary in The Family International, as seen through the eyes of the contributing bloggers (bless their hearts). They share their daily lives, beliefs, viewpoints and opinions from the perspective of a young member of The Family International. Occasionally the site admins (that would be Mike and Justin) contribute, as well or invite other non-regular bloggers to contribute a special feature. The intent is to promote greater understanding and tolerance of Family member’s beliefs and lifestyle.

Comments are welcome, but they are not the end-all of the site. LivetheCreed.com was not created to serve as a discussion forum or chat room.

On some blogs, comments are shown immediately after they are submitted. On other blogs with larger audiences there is no comment option, or the blog in question publishes comments made by registered members only. Traditional media often offer visitors the ability to comment on articles, but apart from the articles in a general discussion forum. For LivetheCreed.com, the close connection between the posts and comments on our blog makes the special management of the comments section necessary.

Here’s our policy: Comments are welcome, but with the following provisos.

• Comments that provide further background or expand the subject matter in the spirit of our blog philosophy are particularly welcome. The Family International is a church; a religious organization that holds specific beliefs. Religions differ with other religions on some points (and sometimes many points). Even within one religion there are sub-divisions with differences and disagreements of doctrine and practice with the other sub-divisions. We support a healthy exchange of opinions and beliefs, but this site is not a discussion forum for religious beliefs or disagreements in general.

• Comments seeking explanation or clarification of religious beliefs or doctrine specifically referred to in a blog post are welcome, so long as they are asked respectfully. Don’t bother expounding on why you don’t agree or believe as we do or why your interpretation of scripture is different than ours. Remember, your beliefs are contested by others as well.

• Stay on-topic. Make your comment relevant to the specific issues in the post.

• Use your real name. Aliases are not allowed. Nor are fake email addresses (or bugmenot.com and similar sites). No, we won’t spam you, nor will we use your email address for any purpose without your express permission. We may put up with fakers occasionally, based on the content of the comment in question. Our opinion is that if you broach controversial topics or make provocative statements then you really should be man or woman enough to make them boldly, with personal conviction. Really.

• We’ll delete what we don’t like or what we consider in bad taste, including:
  • Personal attacks.
  • Comments that insult, name-call, use pejoratives or express attitudes of intolerance.
  • Comments that undermine and reject the position of our postings.
  • Comments containing falsehoods or bogus facts.
  • Comments that are obscene or which use profanity or vulgarity.
  • Comments with links to anti-Family material or sites.
  • Trackbacks leading to posts containing anything we’d normally delete in a comment placed here.

• What to delete and what to allow will be at our discretion. There will be no warning before deletion, however. Make it a habit and we’ll ban your IP. The Internet is not a democracy and neither is this site. Your cooperation is appreciated.

• It is time-consuming and labor-intensive for us, as admins, to have to correct every published comment or to defend our bloggers postings. This can lead to further comments and counter-comments, then counter-counter-comments leading to yet more comments and so on and so forth long into the night. Such meandering discussions are not the objective or the goal of this blog. There are other avenues for this type of discussion.

• Our bloggers are missionaries on mission fields and lead busy lives. The unique nature of this particular blog is that the bloggers are contributors, not bloggers in the traditional sense where they setup and maintain their own blogs. That is the job of the admins. If our contributors have the time to reply to a comment you make, consider it a bonus. If your comment goes unanswered, please don’t consider it a personal insult. It’s likely they just don’t have the time. They appreciate your understanding of this point and also enjoy receiving your comments. Thank you.

• We especially ask for understanding from visitors to this blog who have beliefs or feelings in opposition to The Family International and who regularly post their opposing positions on LivetheCreed.com. We cannot and will not accept permanent or even occasional “co-bloggers” who see it as their task to tear down our blog and its philosophy in the comments section. We’re sure you can appreciate what we are trying to accomplish with this site, and that you will understand when we delete your regularly posted contrary views and beliefs. It’s nothing against you personally, but we are determined to fulfill the mission statement of this blog without these distractions.

Thank you again for visiting!

Content Policy

All comments, email, photos and any other content, whether submitted by the featured contributors (bloggers) to this site or by any other party are subject to the following agreement:

"By submitting written works, photos, comments or any other content to livethecreed.com you are certifying that you are 18 years or older and you are granting Mike Moore and the livethecreed.com website a worldwide, royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable, exclusive and fully sub licensable right and license to use, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, translate, create derivative works from, distribute, perform and display your submission (in whole or part) and/or to incorporate it in other works in any form, media, or technology now known or later developed."

Hopefully that sufficiently covers things for Men In Suits everywhere.