Dear Readers:

When I first opened my website to unfiltered comments two years ago, nearly all my friends told me that it would be a matter of days before I would need to screen the comments, or shut down the comment feature altogether. I have always believed in the inherent goodness of the silent majority of people – starting with talmidim who were written off by others and extending to all the members of our kehilah. I think that my faith in the decency of people has been proven correct, as this website has become a place for people to productively discuss chinuch matters and the real issues of the day.

However, some abuse of these privileges has taken place by a small minority of posters. Unfortunately, this is enough to ruin things for the majority of legitimate readers and posters who find benefit from this site. What’s a website host to do?

Starting tomorrow, each post will have a hyperlink next to it which reads, “Report This Post.” When clicked, members will have the opportunity to state why they find the post objectionable. The website will automatically tally and rank these complaints, and as appropriate, delete the post and replace it with the words, “Removed by community.” When I, or one of the site’s administrators remove a post, it will still state, “Removed by Admin.” Reporters of abuse will be required to be logged in as a member, and will need to enter their real email address which will be kept confidential, and not added to any mailing list.

I feel that this improvement will allow me to maintain the democratic process of respectful comments, al pi Torah, and allow us to continue to discuss the parenting and communal issues that affect us all. I respectfully ask that posted comments stick to such issues. I ask that we all:

1) Maintain a respectful tone to our gedolim and rabbanim at all times.

2) Maintain a respectful tone to each other when disagreeing.

3) Refrain from personal attacks and divulging personal information.

Your cooperation is much appreciated.

Respectfully,

Yakov Horowitz