Due to the deficiencies in the Malaysian legal system in the protection of the freedom of expression and the freedom of speech and to maintain a minimum standard of civility on this blog, I have to insist that commenters on this blog who submit content to this blog abide by the following guidelines.
Communications and Multimedia Content Forum Complaints Bureau Advisory
Any comments posted on this blog that are obscene, blasphemous, racial or overtly threatening, including the use of partial words or phrases where the intent is clearly offensive, will be removed immediately by the host. Such comment could also render the person posting them liable to legal action or prosecution.
No Impersonation Or Sock Puppetry
Do not impersonate and/or pass yourself off as someone you are not. While commenters using pseudonyms are allowed, the use of a consistent handle or pseudonym is insisted.
Do not mislead others about your identity; ie. omitting information from your comments that would lead other readers to believe that you are someone other than who you are.
This means sock puppetry and astro-turfing will not be tolerated.
No Plagiarism
Do not pass off someone else's words as your own. Attribute all information you get from other sources, including people, websites or offline publications.
Respect Copyrights
If you want to tell people about an article published somewhere else, please provide a hyperlink, rather than copying and pasting the entire article. You may not republish someone else's copyrighted material on this site.
A sample of a hyperlink is provided below:
<a href="http://www.bobjots.org" target="_blank">bobjots : redux</a>
Malaysia is a signatory of the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works which means copyright claims outside Malaysia and outside the jurisdiction of the Copyright Act 1987 have to be respected too.
No Harassment
Do to others what you would have them do to you. In other words, make it short and dignified and do not submit comments laced with profanity, obscenity, threats or other forms of hate speech (see first point above).
Harassment by any other means; including offline communications and messages to third parties; with the intention to threaten or intimidate other readers over their postings on this blog will not be tolerated.
Unsolicited commercial postings and the use of this blog as a means to obtain free advertising is also viewed as a form of harassment.
I generally do not moderate comments and do appreciate point of views that differ from mine but I do reserve the right to remove comments and/or ban readers who violate these rules. In addition, I also reserve the right to publish or otherwise release the registration information and other identifying information of individuals who violate these rules.
The following are rule of thumbs which are less binding but nonetheless are good points to think about prior to posting your comment:
Stay On Topic
The comment posted ought to be specifically relevant to the issues or questions raised by the original post. Refrain from going off tangent.
Make It Short And Sweet
If your comment is longer than the post, you might want to consider setting up your own blog. It's pretty easy and can be a fulfilling exercise. Here are some places where you can get set up for free:
You can also get your own domain here for as little as RM40.00 per year and get hosted. You can contact me for more details.
If you already have your own blog, just leave a note with a hyperlink in the comment.
Keep It Polite And Friendly
Keep the tone and the letter of your comment friendly and polite, even if you really disagree with what I have to say. It can be fun and tempting to be argumentative just for its own sake, especially in the relative anonymity of the Internet but tangos are only fun when you have a dance partner.
Your Contribution Should Really Contribute
It would be best if your contribution adds something new and positive to the conversation. Even if its a criticism, make it constructive, and please do not use this blog as an arena for sparring with other commenters, do it elsewhere or on your own blog.
