his policy applies to comments on our articles. For reviews, see our Reviews Policy.
We love comments and appreciate the time that our readers spend to share ideas and give feedback. All voices are heard and encouraged on this site, including those that disagree or offer contradictory views.
However, some comments are not appropriate and will be deleted to protect our readers and support our values.
Comment removal reasons
We will consider removing comments for the following reasons.
1. Duplication
There is no need to post the same comment multiple times. This is unnecessary and crowds out other opinions. We want a range of viewpoints to be heard.
This also applies to comments that are very similar, to the extent that they are essentially the same.
2. Off-topic
Comments should always be relevant to the article that they are posted on, and provide information or opinions that are relevant to ecommerce or online sellers.
This is not the place to discuss hobbies, politics or sports – unless they are relevant to the present topic.
3. Spam or promotional
We don’t allow comments that are spam or promotional in nature.
Links can be included in comments, if they provide a reference to relevant content. However, comments with these kinds of links will be deleted:
- Promotional links
- Affiliate links or codes
- Links to websites that are offensive or fraudulent
- Links that are shortened just to disguise their nature or hide the website being linked to
Comments that appear superficially to be genuine but are actually spam or promotional in nature are not allowed.
4. Offensive or inflammatory
We don’t allow comments that are offensive or include profanities.
We also don’t allow comments that are posted to inflame feelings or provoke a negative reaction from others (trolling).
Comments should always be respectful. We understand that discussions can become heated, but ask that comments are not posted in anger.
5. Attacks or harassment
We don’t allow comments that directly attack or harass individuals on a personal level. Opinions can be strongly challenged and disagreed with, but do not make it personal.
Please be respectful toward the article author and other commenters.
Do not expose other people’s personal information without their prior agreement, or otherwise post comments which harass people.
6. Dishonesty or misrepresentation
To encourage free discussion, we do allow anonymous comments and the use of screen names and pseudonyms.
However, we do not allow commenters to misrepresent themselves. Some examples include:
- Commenting multiple times but using different names
- Promotional comments written to look like user questions, feedback or recommendations
- Collaborating with others to give the impression of an organic conversation between unconnected parties
Above all, be honest. Comments should be your genuine opinion, and not have an ulterior motive such as promoting a business.
About industry relationships
People with industry relationships are allowed to comment, but must be particularly careful not to misrepresent themselves or promote their business (either deliberately or through implication).
Disclosure of industry relationships is not required in comments, but it is recommended as it helps avoid reports of misrepresentation or dishonesty.
Note that “industry relationships” means any connection within the ecommerce software and services industry. It includes any financial or contractual agreement, as well as less formal arrangements such as freelancing and affiliate schemes.
How we moderate comments
We moderate comments in multiple ways:
- Automated spam detection
- Sending comments for moderation if they contain blacklisted words
- Sending comments for moderation if they contain links
- Reviewing a random selection of comments that were not sent for moderation automatically
- Investigating comments that are reported to us
Not all comments are moderated automatically. If you see a comment on the site that you think violates this policy, please click the flag icon under the comment to report it to us.
Comments are moderated in accordance with this policy, and moderation decisions are made at our sole discretion.
About this policy
This policy is subject to change at any time, and may be applied to comments that were submitted at any time in the past as well as new comments.
If you have any questions about this policy, please contact us.