It's been awhile since I've posted about our commenting policies here on Kotaku. They are, I believe, different than with most other sites.

We are not content to allow our posts to just fill up with white noise, people posting FIRST! or GAY! or Not NEWS! Despite our proficiency in posts about what I like to call gaming culture (cakes, costumes, pumpkins) we do take our jobs and the topic we cover quite seriously. (And we like to work in a douche-free zone.)

I like nothing more than to hear someone make a smart argument about what an idiot I am. I love to hear thoughtful discourse about what makes one of our opinions totally and completely wrong. Disagreement, when presented thoughtfully, is the best thing that can come from a story written on Kotaku.

And for the most part, our commenters, you men and women, are a thoughtful bunch. You daily pwn me in logic, proving the power of your arguments in amazing posts. Often, and I'm being quite serious, I'm humbled by the thoroughness and thoughtfulness of your comments. Many times the value of a post is far outweighed by the value of the comments made about it.

But those singing comments—that mostly intellectual, funny, zippy tone in our group discussions—doesn't come without some effort on our part. That, my friends, is what the banhammer is all about. Really I should call it a trowel, because we use it not to crush commenters but to weed out trolls and the people who'd like nothing more than to fill the halls of Kotaku Tower with echoes of fanboyism, flamewars and tripe.

So disagree with us, please. Just don't be banal, god forbid, uninteresting.

Kotaku Comments FAQ

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