Community Guidelines

We are an open and welcoming community. No matter who you are, you are welcome in our community. We celebrate our differences because it allows us to learn and grow from each other.

We believe in moving humanity forward, which includes positivity and thoughtfulness and mindful disagreements. Be respectful to your fellow community members, article authors and contributors.

Hate speech will not be tolerated, resulting in deleted comments and termination of your membership (without refund).

As a member, you can help maintain a safe and inviting space by reporting any behavior that goes against these guidelines. If you see someone being rude, negative, hateful, divisive, or combative in the comments section, flag it. All you need to do is click the three dots next to the inappropriate comment, and then click Report comment. These reports are taken seriously, and there's a zero tolerance policy for abusive behavior.

We want this membership to support thoughtful discussion. It is not a place for irrelevant rants or off-topic digressions. That includes spam and repetitive self-promotion. Please link to your sources that you may cite.

If you've contributed to the conversation and someone else replies to your thread, you'll be notified by email. You can choose to switch these emails off in your member account settings, under email preferences.

Invite your friends and family members to grab their seat at the table with a Sunday Paper Plus membership.

Share your reflections on Maria’s Sunday Essay and other articles by engaging in the members-only comment section.

Put a face to your name by uploading your photo to your user profile.