Guidelines for posting on bangordailynews.com

The Bangor Daily News encourages comments about stories, but you must follow our terms of service.

In brief:

1. Keep it civil and stay on topic
2. No vulgarity, racial slurs, name-calling or personal attacks.
3. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked.

The primary rule here is pretty simple: Treat others with the same respect you'd want for yourself. Here are some guidelines (see more):

It should be noted this is not a comprehensive list.

• Don't insult one another or the subjects of BDN stories. You may be ticked off at what someone did or said, but you can explain that without resorting to name-calling or obscenity. Remember that young people are on this site too.
• That nasty line that makes your buddies go "haw, haw"? You're better than that.
• Comments should be your own work, not copied and pasted from elsewhere, though brief quoted passages to make your point are fine. And please don't use all capital letters. There's no need to shout.
• Stay focused on the issue in the article. Off-topic posts will be deleted.
• This isn't a forum to chat about your personal life.
• Some ideas — the fate of the earth, abortion, gun control, the nature of God — aren't going to be resolved in a reader forum, so no need to get frustrated if others don't see your point of view. State your position once and leave it at that.
• If you mouse over each comment you will see a "Flag" button. Please use it if you feel comments on the site are out of line. Quite often, we won't see a comment until it's reported.
• Questions about why a comment was — or wasn't — deleted? E-mail us at web@bangordailynews.com and let us know your username and where you posted or saw the comment.

That's about it: Stick to writing about the stories; be civil; be kind; enlighten your neighbors. And we'll keep moderating posts to try to ensure everyone meets those standards.

• Anonymous

  Thank You Chief Massey!
  This is a serious statewide problem,  we need Teeth to prosecute.
  Name, address, License number, material description, amount and source.
  All on a sworn and signed document.

• Anonymous

  Ok! let me get this straight , we want more regulation and additional costs on the businesses.  What are we interested in creating jobs or losing jobs?

• Anonymous

  Purchasing stolen property is a crime. Just as much as stealing it to begin with. Keeping decent records is part of running a business. Creating jobs? Someone has to keep those records so I would guess this will create jobs. Or at least extend a few extra hours to an existing employee. Win – win situation if you ask me.

• Anonymous

  Your response is a classic example of getting caught up in the rhetoric and refusing to apply common sense. Pawn shops require name, address, proof of identification, as well as a description of the merchandise, and the pawn shop is required to keep these records. This makes it easier to track stolen merchandise.

  Why shouldn’t scrap metal processors be held to the same standards? What is the expensive additional cost that goes with filling out a short form and keeping records? The theft of copper and other expensive metals is more costly to businesses that get stolen from than those that process the goods.

  Not all regulations are bad. This one falls into that category.

• Buzlno

  What took so long?