Guidelines for Publishing Thoughts on Serendip

On Serendip, one of our goals is to model discussion that is constructive and generative of new and evolving ideas and stories. Serendip's editors therefore moderate submitted comments using some broad rules of the road:

1. No spam allowed. Commercial activity, in general, may be generative of new economic markets, but is usually not generative of new ideas. Serendip's editors may remove commercial material before publishing submitted comments.

2. Namecalling and personal attacks are not permitted on Serendip. Serendip is not a talk show scream-a-thon where guests talk *at* instead of *to* each other. Opposing viewpoints without personal venom are very welcome as they may generate new questions, new points of view, new stories and subsequently new ideas.

3. Serendip's editors may edit for length, if necessary, before publishing.

4. We do not publish corrections to grammar or spelling, unless  it clears up a misunderstanding.

5. We do not publish email addresses. Because of concerns about misuse of personal contact information, such information will not be made available in forum postings. Links to other locations on the web where such information has already been made available can be used if people wish to give public access to such information in connection with their postings.

We will close forums when, in our judgement, they no longer serve the purpose of providing an environment in which the sharing of existing perspectives and experiences promote the development of new ways of thinking about the subjects of the forum.

These rules of the road are intended to facilitate conversations, not establish obstacles. If you have questions about a submitted comment, please write the editors at Serendip.