Comments and Opinion

Your opinion is a big part of why Salisbury News has become successful.  We want to read what you have to say.  So do your fellow readers!

There are basically two ways for you to participate in the conversation:

• Comments
  
• Letters to the Editor

COMMENTS

It’s pretty simple.  At the end of each post click “Post a Comment”.  You can give your name.  You can use a “handle”.  You can just comment anonymously.  It’s up to you!  There are just a few rules:

• No profanity.  Trust me, you’re all smart enough to express your opinion without dropping the f-bomb. Why call someone an as*h*le when you can simply call them a jerk?  Better yet, call them by their name.
  
• No bigoted remarks.  No derogatory remarks about someone’s race, religion, national origin, or sexual orientation.  There’s a difference between arguing for a strong national border and referring to some poor guy as a “beaner”.
  
• No libel.  If you want to call an elected official a criminal, have some evidence to back it up.  Don’t tell me that John Doe deals drugs unless you have a YouTube video of the handoff; or a conviction in open court.
  
• No bashing our advertisers.  Constructive criticism is always welcome.  Simply trashing a business because you don’t like us simply won’t fly.  Besides, these good folks allow us to pay the bills.
• No Links or URL's - Sorry, but we simply don't have time to verify each one and we can't post them without doing so. 

While we value each and every one of you, these are the rules.  If you can’t abide by them, you’ll simply have to keep your opinion to yourself; or go to one of those websites that referred to me as a “Fat Fu**er” the other day.  I’m sure they’d love to hear what you have to say. A diversity of opinion is not only allowed; it’s welcomed!  Being pretty opinionated myself, I love to see others argue their point of view. NOTE – I am not the only person who moderates comments.  We are lucky to have several people give their time to this often tedious task.  IF your comment is rejected and you believe that you were treated unfairly – please E-mail me at alberobutzo@wmconnect.com

 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
If you wish to express yourself in a longer form than your typical comment affords, write us a letter.  There is no length limit (but we recommend that you keep it under 600 words).  The content rules are the same as for Comments. There are a couple of extras:

• All letters to the editor MUST include your REAL NAME and phone number.  We are happy to publish your letter anonymously, but we also must be able to confirm that you are who you say you are.
  
• Hyperlinks may be included in a Letter to the Editor, but we reserve the right to strike it if the link re-directs to an offensive site.

Send your letters to the editor to:  alberobutzo@wmconnect.com and include “Letter to the Editor” in the subject line.