RaceFans receives hundreds, sometimes thousands of comments per day. In order to ensure a good quality of debate on the site it is necessary to monitor the quality of comments.
This FAQ addresses some of the most frequently asked questions about commenting on RaceFans:
Why do you have a Comment Policy?
Why do you only allow comments in English?
Why does my comment say ‘Your comment is awaiting moderation’?
Why has my comment been moderated/removed?
Do you allow swearing?
Did you remove my comment because you didn’t agree with it?
Do you edit readers’ comments?
I’ve seen a comment which I think breaks the Comment Policy. What should I do?
Other users have pictures next to their comments. How can I get one?
How do I notify other RaceFans users when replying to them?
What is Comment of the Day?
Do you have any advice on how to write a comment?
Why do you have a Comment Policy?
The Comment Policy exists to encourage positive and constructive discussions between RaceFans users as well as to ensure legal compliance.
Why do you only allow comments in English?
At present we only allow comments in English because we are unable to verify whether comments in other languages meet the terms of the Comment Policy.
Why does my comment say ‘Your comment is awaiting moderation’?
This comment has been held to check whether it complies with the Comment Policy.
All comments go through the moderation process, but some go through more quickly than others.
Comments are marked as ‘awaiting moderation’ for one of two reasons:
1. The automatic moderation system has detected the comment is potentially in violation of the Comment Policy
2. A moderator has manually flagged that the comment is potentially in violation of the Comment Policy
Comments that are ‘awaiting moderation’ can only be seen by the person who posted them and the moderators. When a comment is placed in moderation, any comments posted as a direct reply to it are also placed in moderation.
Comments which have been marked as ‘awaiting moderation’ are inspected individually. Those which meet the terms of the Comment Policy are published and those which do not are removed.
Due to the large number of comments posted on the site it is not possible to say how long it should take a comment to leave moderation. However it is highly unusual for a comment to remain in moderation for longer than 24 hours.
Why has my comment been removed?
Comments are removed if they do not meet the terms of the Comment Policy.
When a comment is removed, any replies to it that have already been posted are also removed.
If you believe your comment was removed in error please contact RaceFans via the contact form including as much detail as possible about the comment, when it was made, what name you used and, ideally, which email address.
Please ensure that the comment you are referring to was removed and has not simply been placed in moderation. If your comment has been put into moderation, please wait to see if it is published before getting in touch.
Due to the high volume of email RaceFans receives it is only possible to respond to questions about why comments were removed, not why they have gone into moderation. Replies will only be sent if a comment was removed in error.
Otherwise please refer to the Comment Policy and the rest of this FAQ for full details on comment moderation.
Do you allow swearing?
Not in the comments, though it may be reported in articles.
Did you remove my comment because you didn’t agree with it?
No. Comments are only ever removed for the reasons given above.
Do you edit readers’ comments?
Readers’ comments beneath articles or on the forum may be edited for technical reasons – e.g. to fix broken links or formatting. No other kind of editing is performed.
Readers’ comments may be edited when quoted within articles.
I’ve seen a comment which I think breaks the Comment Policy. What should I do?
Do not leave a comment in response.
Instead, send an email via the contact form describing your concern and linking to the comment (the date and time next to a comment is a link to it).
Note that if a comment is deleted, any comments posted as a reply to it may also be deleted.
You may be also able to quickly alert us to unacceptable comments using the ‘Report’ button next to them.
Other users have pictures next to their comments. How can I get one?
See here: How can I get a picture next to my name?
How do I notify other RaceFans users when replying to them? (@-messages)
If you’re replying to another RaceFans user you can make sure they see your reply by using an @-message. This appears like this: @keithcollantine
You can only reply in this fashion to other registered RaceFans users. If they are their name will be displayed appear in this fashion next to comments:
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
To create an @-message simply repeat the portion beginning with ‘@’ in a comment or forum post, e.g. ‘@keithcollantine‘.
When you do this, the user will be notified about your comment.
What is Comment of the Day?
Every day one of the best comments from the preceding 24 hours will be chosen to feature in the daily round-up.
This might be a funny comment, an interesting point of view, someone sharing a first-hand F1 experience or something else others readers might find interesting.
Do you have any advice on how to write a comment?
Sure – have a look here: