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Dialogue on urban issues is a core component of Greater Auckland’s work, and we are proud of the high standard of input and active engagement shown by our readers. We see Greater Auckland as a civil space and have a strong preference for open access and minimal moderation. In order to keep it this way we ask that people engaging with Greater Auckland observe the following guidelines:

  1. Commenters are guests and are asked to behave accordingly by treating other members of the community with civility and respect. If you see disrespectful behaviour or trolling, please report it to us here rather than responding to the situation yourself.
  2. We encourage people to use their real names, especially those wishing to contribute frequently. We currently allow anonymity, but reserve the right to withdraw this feature.
  3. Personal attacks (ad hominem) are frowned upon. If you disagree with someone’s input, refute their statements with information rather than insulting them.
  4. Copied articles need to be acknowledged and referenced. Please seek permission from the copyright holder where appropriate.
  5. Please do not comment on very old posts unless you have valid new information to add.
  6. We do not tolerate climate denial. There is a lot to discuss about how to reduce emissions. Comments about whether we need to – or denying the urgency, scale or morality of climate action required – are unwelcome. Relitigating settled science can waste people’s effort and energy, delaying action and demotivating our readers.
  7. We reserve the right to delete comments, place commenters in moderation and suspend accounts if needed. The editors decide what is acceptable and their decisions are final. Grounds for moderation or suspension may include:
    1. Excessive arguing in a thread or threads, or repeated provocative contrariness or pedantry (i.e. trolling). This may include ongoing patterns of user behaviour that are not constructive.
    2. Repeated statements of fact without supporting evidence. Opinions are not facts and should not be asserted as such. Please provide supporting references and links if asked.
    3. Promotion of products and/or services.
    4. Use of multiple anonymous identities.
    5. Sexist, racist or other offensive comments (e.g. comments contradicting climate change)
    6. Unnecessarily long comments.

A small number of readers (you know who you are) who have been banned from commenting will continue to have their comments deleted, regardless of content.

We are a volunteer-run platform and we make mistakes sometimes. If you notice inaccuracies or disagree with something we have done, get in touch.