We at HODINKEE are very grateful to all our readers and to the community that has grown up around our website, and in order to help readers better understand the dynamics of the comments section of our site, we thought we'd actually codify and clarify what our hopes and expectations are for reader comments, as well as help clarify why it is that, on occasion, we don't publish comments.
As most of you probably know, comments are moderated by the H team and must be approved to be visible. We currently do not require social media or other logins that would require personal information, as many serious collectors who wish to comment and participate in discussions also prefer to maintain anonymity. In general our approach to comments is very open; we enjoy vigorous discussion and debate, which we feel fosters an open, educational, and mutually supportive environment.
Any comments on topic for a story or for the site are obviously welcome. We also welcome corrections in matters of fact (very much) and update stories as soon as we can if we get corrections. Criticism, even vigorous criticism, is also welcome, as long as it's constructive. HODINKEE will not, however, publish comments that are gratuitously and/or primarily abusive. We also cannot publish posts containing profanity, or racist, sexist, homophobic, or suggestive language. HODINKEE will also close discussions/threads that are excessively personal and/or argumentative. Also please remember that we can't provide a public forum for resolving individual disputes, either with individuals or with companies; nor can we provide a forum for political or other non-topical debates. We also ask readers to please remember that we cannot post comments that link to articles currently for sale, or that promote sales or services.
It's all too easy to forget that feelings are not facts, matters of taste vary, and opinions are just that, but before you compose a post, take a moment and remember that we're all here – us as storytellers, and you as readers – to give something of value back to the community.
Also, please be aware that our comments are automatically scanned for spam and if your post doesn't appear, it may have been flagged as spam in error. If you have any concerns about why a post has not been published please feel free to contact us by email.
Finally, I'd like to point out a few things about who we are at HODINKEE, and how far comments can carry. We, like you, are watch enthusiasts, and we all have a common passion for watches and all the worlds they touch. Our stories are created by enthusiasts, for enthusiasts, and we take our responsibility to you, our readers, who are members of the same wider community we are, extremely seriously. Comments published on HODINKEE aren't just read by your fellow watch enthusiasts either; they're read by people on the brand side up to and including global CEOs, designers, engineers, marketing and sales staff, public relations professionals, and on and on. I mention this because it's very easy to forget that we are all part of the same community. The anonymity of the comments section, which we maintain as a courtesy to our readers, is not an excuse for incivility and if a point is worth making, it's worth making in a thoughtful and respectful fashion that acknowledges the greater watch enthusiast community. It's all too easy to forget that feelings are not facts, matters of taste vary, and opinions are just that, but before you compose a post, take a moment and remember that we're all here – us as storytellers, and you as readers – to give something of value back to the community.
We hope this clarifies our editorial policy with respect to comments; we thank our readers in advance for keeping comments on topic, mutually respectful, and, hopefully, informative to and enriching of the watch community at large.
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