WORLD | On the Web, a sister publication to WORLD magazine, receives funding from donors who grasp the importance of using new media to reach new readers and develop new, young writers. We report from a biblical worldview and provide an open forum for discussion of news that arises at the intersection of religion and culture.

Our Comment Policy
The free speech goals of World on the Web parallel the view enunciated by Puritan poet John Milton three and a half centuries ago: “Though all the winds of doctrine were let loose to play upon the earth, so truth be in the field, we do injuriously by licensing and prohibiting to misdoubt her strength. Let her and falsehood grapple; who ever knew truth put to the worse, in a free and open encounter?”

Based on that faith, we hope for a forum within which truth will emerge — but WOW does not endorse the truth or accuracy of any comment posted on this site. The posting of any comment or other statement is not an endorsement or acceptance of the statement by WOW nor by any individual, agent or employee on behalf of WOW. We yearn for a forum in which participants will be tough-minded in their analysis but respectful toward each other (see Rules of Engagement below).

Debate is a contact sport, so we don’t discourage intellectual blocking and tackling within free and open encounters. But obscene, profane, or racist rhetoric - to cite only some obvious examples - shuts down debate. WOW reserves the right to delete or edit any posting as its editors determine. That WOW reserves this right does not mean that it will exercise such editorial control over the content of this site: Our desire is to let truth and falsehood grapple. Failure of WOW to delete or edit any material does not mean that we are accepting the content of any posting; our staff is small.

Our lawyer puts it this way: “Any individual making a posting to this site agrees (by submitting the posting) to indemnify and hold WOW harmless from any and all liability or injury that WOW may incur by reason of any posting.” What that means is that no one need worry about defending or attacking an idea, but if (for example) you post a personal attack on another blogger and he sues for libel, you’re the one who would be responsible for the legal fees, not us. So, as your mother might say, be polite.

Rules of Engagement
We here at WORLD on the Web/WORLDMagBlog have grown fond of you all. But as much as it pains us, we will ban you, as many diehard rule breakers have learned. Here, once more, are the Rules:

1. Do not engage in personal attacks.
2. If someone attacks you personally (rather than attacking your ideas), do not return evil for evil. If in the process of attacking you, a person violates the rules against profanity, racism, or vulgarity, or you think their attack is serious enough to merit our attention, please send an email to editor@worldontheweb.com (WOW) or worldblog@gmail.com (WMB) (Note: A new address will be available soon to send complaints and will be posted in the “Contact Us” section of the site as soon as it is set up.)
3. If we perceive that a person is emailing us to point out every insignificant jot and tittle in order to get another person thrown off the blog, we will count it against the persistent emailer, so be sure a person has really attacked you.
4. Do not email us to say that someone attacked someone else. Let each person speak up for him- or herself if he or she perceives an attack.
5. In terms of banning/not banning, we will take into account that person’s history of being naughty/nice.
6. Recognize that on this blog, many of us have intrinsically irreconcilable ideological differences. This does not make us haters, bigots, homofascists, boy-lovers, Nazis, blind, ignorant, etc., etc. It means we subscribe to a different worldview. We are all thinking people, uniquely created by and for God. Most of us arrived at our worldviews through thought and study—MANY from the other side of the spiritual/political fence.
7. Members of the WOW/WMB staff would have coffee with any one of our liberal regulars in a second and disagree with every word that came out their mouths, but still enjoy having coffee with them. Someone suggested that we post as if we are having an in-person chat. That’s probably a good guideline, though we would add that the imaginary chat be in a very public place. That might mitigate some of our tendencies to be nasty.
8. We expect each of you to post comments with humility and respect.

Together, we have created something unique across the blogosphere—a place where people of different faiths and worldviews can come to discuss the issues of the day civilly, without profanity, and with most of us remaining friends at the end of the day.

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