Why do we have a comments policy in the first place?
We believe that the comments section can be a valuable place for readers and journalists to converse. Without clear guidelines on acceptable behavior, that space can devolve. Nastiness and name calling stifles debate and keeps many from sharing their own stories – the exact opposite of why we host a comments section in the first place. Part of our role as a news organization is to offer readers who love Maine a space to share their ideas and experiences. Enforcing this policy helps accomplish that.
This policy was first created in March 2019 with input from our staff and our readers. As our commenting community has grown, we’ve continued to update it to reflect new conversations and feedback. The latest revision, effective January 2026, reflects our current community standards.
This reminder from the old policy still stands, though: Be civil. Stay on topic. Don’t abuse people. Don’t embarrass your mother.
If you’re looking for the Comments FAQ, that’s below.
Here’s what we’re looking for:
— Thoughtful responses to the article that share your experience about the topic at hand.
— Factual information that enhances or provides context to the article. — Links are welcome, if used sparingly. Note that all links will be reviewed before your comment is published. This might mean your comment will take hours or longer to be approved, depending on when you submit it and the volume of comments that day.
— Tips that could advance our reporting on the topic.
— Specific questions about the content of the article that you’d like the reporter to answer.
Here’s a list of our “flags” and how they get raised, which requires a moderator review:
- Client Image: Negative or inaccurate representation of Bangor Daily News (everyone knows that it’s rude to insult your hosts)
- Hate Speech: Abusive or threatening language expressing prejudice (ethnicity, religion, tribal affiliation, etc.)
- Off Topic: Not relevant to the article or comment thread
- Personal Attack: Direct abuse, threats, or personal accusations toward an individual
- Political Hostility: Degrading or malicious language based on political differences
- Repeated: Duplicate message posted by the same user (these may also get flagged as “spam”)
- Risky: Flagged at moderator discretion when a comment raises concern
- Vulgar: Profanity or disturbing language
- Contact Info: Sharing personal contact details (phone number, email, etc.)
- Inappropriate: Not constructive or suitable for the conversation
- New User: Comment from a newly registered account (within 24 hours)
- Not English: Content that is difficult to understand due to language
- Review: Requires fact-checking or may contain misinformation
- Spam: Promotional, bot-like, or irrelevant marketing content
Here’s what will most likely get your comment deleted:
— Personal attacks of other BDN users or subjects of stories. We will not allow name calling, hate speech, ad hominem arguments or insults.
— Engaging in one-on-one debates with other commenters. If you disagree with another reader’s comment, make your case in one succinct message and move on. We will delete these threads if they devolve into personal attacks.
— Straying too far off-topic. Comments that merely repeat talking points, espouse conspiracy theories or include misinformation will be deleted. Again, we’re looking for your personal experiences or opinions on the subject.
— Copying and pasting articles in full from other news sources, or if a comment appears to be plagiarized.
— Writing in all caps. There’s no need to yell.
The editor reserves the right to turn comments off on any article at any time. Deletion of comments is at the discretion of BDN moderators.
Here’s what will get your account banned:
— Engaging in any of the above deletable offenses consistently.
— Egregiously violating any of the above deletable offenses, even on your first comment.
— Behaving aggressively and trying to dominate a conversation. Posting the same comment repeatedly on the same story will get you banned. So will attacking anyone whose comments you disagree with.
Comments policy last updated 4/23/26
Comments FAQ
Q: Why am I being told I have to create an account to comment on BDN articles?
A: Commenting is a feature for subscribers to the BDN. Our current platform for commenting is ViaFoura. The first time you comment, you will be asked to create an account, which you will do using the same login information from your BDN account. You can learn more about setting up your account here.
Q: How long are comments open on stories?
A: As long as the story exists on our site, unless commenting is turned off manually by staff.
Q: Why are comments not available on all stories?
A: We routinely close comments on stories that involve sexual assault, domestic violence and suicide to protect the victims. We may also close comments on stories that tend to provoke strong, and unhelpful, reactions along ideological lines, such as abortion, racism and homophobia.
BDN moderators may decide to close comments on a story if the comments largely violate our comment policy. In that scenario, we will make every effort to close the comments but leave existing comments available to be read. Closing comments is done at the discretion of BDN moderators.
Q: Are links allowed? Are images allowed?
A: Yes. However, links and images are at times abused by bots, spammers, and trolls, which is why they will send your comment to a review process. Once we confirm it’s within our guidelines, we will release and publish it. If we determine that it is outside of our guidelines, we will delete it.
Q: What happens when I report a comment?
A: When you report a comment, you will be given several options to choose from for why you think that comment violates our policy. The comment will remain visible on the article page until a moderator has taken action, to either approve it or remove it.
Q: What counts as a personal attack?
A: If you have to ask, you’ve probably crossed the line. We are more permissive of critique or criticism of elected officials than we are for private citizens and fellow commenters.
Q: Are there ways to “block” commenters who I find offensive or who I cannot resist responding negatively to?
A: If you believe someone is making comments with the purpose of provoking or deceiving you, there is a “mute” feature on the commenting platform, which hides their comments from your view.
Q: Which words are automatically blocked? If I don’t know which words aren’t allowed, I don’t know how to steer clear of them.
A: We have blocked as many curse words as we can think of, and many more words which have been used to insult others on these pages. The list evolves over time, but includes slurs, swears and other words you’re not allowed to say in front of your grandmother. If one word violates our policy but otherwise abides by our standards, our moderators will attempt to reach out to you and ask you to edit the comment, rather than deleting the entire comment outright. And yes, we do see the creative ways you work around these – we might miss some, but we are known for deleting comments that contain them.
Q: Why do you moderate conservative viewpoints more harshly than liberal viewpoints?
A: We are not in the business of moderating viewpoints. We seek to address violations of our policy. We welcome many viewpoints, but if those viewpoints are not expressed with respect for fellow commenters, they will be handled according to the policy.
Q: Why don’t you require real names?
A: The short answer is that our comments technology doesn’t support it. We’re not dead-set against requiring real names, but we do have some serious questions about how to enforce it accurately — and whether it would be an effective tool for improving quality of discussion. There are also compelling reasons to not require real names, such as to protect privacy and to allow people with knowledge of specific issues to speak freely.
Q: What do you mean when you say “conspiracy theory?”
A: Here’s an example: “I don’t believe in climate change” is a different beast from “climate change is a hoax.” The former is an opinion, to which you are entitled. The latter is an unfounded statement that defies the findings of the vast majority of the world’s climate scientists, according to NASA.
Likewise, we’ll moderate outright misinformation. You can say that you have concerns about vaccinating your children. But vaccines do not cause autism, according, again, to a consensus of scientists, and the federal government.
It’s not our intent to create a forum where everyone agrees with each other. But we will moderate based on a reasonable baseline of respect for established facts.
Q: What do you mean by “talking points?”
A: Repeating political slogans, catchphrases or other non-original language used to promote an ideology just deepens the divide between commenters and spurs fights. We don’t want that.
Q: My comment was deleted/My account was banned but I don’t think I violated the comments policy. Why?
A: If we find that a commenter is being aggressive or otherwise working against the spirit of the discussion space we are trying to create (here’s the comments policy), we may put that commenters account in a “time out.” If a commenter violates our policy repeatedly, or commits an egregious offense, the account may be banned. Bans and deletions are done at the discretion of BDN moderators.
FAQ last updated 4/23/26