What goes in to making Queerty the best gay read around (if we may say so ourselves) is more than just our original reporting, news analysis, and exclusive features — mostly, it's readers like you.

Queerty is better because of our readers. And the huge, and growing, number of you folks posting comments on the site ensure we're never talking at you, but with you. It's that sense of community that makes what we do so much stronger.

But just like a community pool, there are rules. Namely, don't piss in it.

Herewith is Queerty's Comment Policy, a guidebook for posting comments on the site. It covers what we hope to see, what we absolutely prohibit, and the grey area in between.

THE PURPOSE OF COMMENTING
Just so there's no confusion, the reason we encourage comments on the site is to take the conversation one step further. We want to know your opinion. We want to know if you have more information than we do. Perhaps you have a link readers should check out for better context? Share it. Sometimes we explicitly call for readers to leave comments, whether for feedback or because you all know more about a topic than we. And also, so you can talk amongst yourselves.

WHAT COMMENTING IS NOT
Comment threads are not the place to exhibit grade school playground behavior. That means adherence to simple rules, such as not calling each other names, throwing profanity at other readers, or calling them idiots (particularly if you can't back it up). It's also not a place to say "Queerty sucks," because while that may be true, you really shouldn't be wasting your time visiting, let alone posting on, a site that sucks. You will be removed for such juvenile behavior.

ANONYMOUS COMMENTS
Yes, you can leave anonymous comments. Choose a nondescript user name, attach your user account to an anonymous email address like Gmail or Yahoo, and don't post any identifying information, and you should be all set. We'll respect your anonymity and keep it a secret, unless … you break one of our rules.

PERMANENCE
Comments will not be deleted or amended by request. Before posting a comment, be sure you actually want to have your words published on the Internet forever. Do not ask us to remove them. Do not ask us to change your name. Do not ask us to edit them. We won't.

YOUR RIGHTS
By posting comments on Queerty, we provide certain rights to you. Unless you violate our rules or the law, we will not edit, modify, or delete your comments; ban you from the site; report you to your ISP; nor out you to your parents. (Yes, we've received that question before.) All of that, however, is contingent upon …

QUEERTY'S RIGHTS
Yup, we've got rights too. First and foremost, we reserve the right to keep Queerty a safe, cordial place for readers to interact with us and each other. At our discretion, we will remove abusive users and comments; we might also choose to publicly reveal the identifying information (such as your IP or email address) of abusive users because, quite often, they deserve to be humiliated.

PROHIBITED. OR: "WHAT CONSTITUTES 'ABUSE?'"
Don't post hate speech. Don't incite violence. Don't defame anyone. And also: Don't be a total dick. Queerty is not the place for you to spread anti-gay propaganda. We're not an advocacy site, and we're all for tolerance, but if you're going to make an argument against gay people, "FAGGOTS SUCKKKKKK!!!" is not acceptable; at least try to impress us with your knowledge of biology and religion. Should you fail to do so, we reserve the right to, like, totally out you and call you a fag.

BANISHMENT
We reserve the right to permanently ban any user for any reason — but almost certainly, we won't. Only if you're a total jerkoff will we even consider banning you, though repeat offenses certainly won't help your case. You may be banned without warning, and your attempt to be reinstated will likely fall on deaf ears … because you are an asshole. Follow the rules above and you'll be all set.

JEEZ, YOU STILL HAVE QUESTIONS?
Email us at holla@queerty.com. If your question is answered above, or could be reasonably assumed to be answered above, you probably won't hear back. But ask us about an exciting opportunity to earn money from home!