Comments Policy

I debated long and hard with myself about what to do regarding comments and the associated risk of attracting trolls or having posts ambushed by abusive or explosive diatribes. For example, I have seen other pages be waylaid by aggressive threads that get extremely heated and also often lead completely off-topic, and ultimately seem to just distract energy away from effective activism. Indeed, this very behaviour put me off setting up a blog for quite some time.

Online commentary also seems to regularly include content that is homophobic, sexist, sizeist, racist, etc. Some would argue that they have a right to free speech and they should be allowed to post whatever comments they like, wherever they like.

However, this is a public declaration: I am setting the intention that the Veganthused platform will be a positive, welcoming community for people who are enthused about veganism, with associated expectations around treating others kindly and with respect, similarly to the behaviour I would expect from dinner guests. If I invited someone to my home, I would not tolerate hostile or threatening behaviour, offensive language, and the like. Of course, everyone’s definition of what constitutes “offensive” will be slightly different, but here on Veganthused I will be going with my own line in the sand.

You can also see my very first blog post for more about what this blog is and isn’t. If you fundamentally disagree with the premise of what I am doing here at Veganthused, then I simply wish you love and light and joy for your own journey.

An acronym that might be useful to bear in mind is “THINK” – before commenting (well, really, in all aspects of communication!), ask whether what you are about to share is True, Helpful, Inspiring, Necessary, and Kind. That’s a pretty high bar – certainly I would miss the mark regularly in daily life, eg through tiredness or frustration – but imagine what our connections could be like if this consideration were front and centre in our interactions!