WUNC Community Discussion Rules

WUNC Community Discussion Rules

The following text serves as the official discussion policy for users of WUNC’s social networking platforms. All participants in WUNC social networking features, including Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Bluesky, and LinkedIn posts and updates, and other forums, are required to follow these rules.

While individual platforms have their own norms and standards, the following are our rules for participatingin WUNC social networking features, including discussions and comments. We appreciate our audiences’ diverse perspectives, and we will block or remove comments that do not adhere to these guidelines.

Focus on issues, not individuals. Our audiences are thoughtful, community-minded learners who want to feel fully informed and engaged — and be part of something bigger than themselves. WUNC welcomes healthy debates about current and sometimes controversial issues that do not result in personal attacks on individuals. We encourage audiences to respect others’ perspectives and the personal experiences that shape their views, and to approach differences of opinion with curiosity and open-mindedness.

Seek common ground with fellow audience members and discussion participants, all of whom share a passion for news and care deeply about current issues. Please consider whether your comments will foster further dialogue, knowing that a clear, concise, and carefully worded position on a topic can encourage civil discourse and critical thinking.

Pause before posting or replying. Our platforms are public forums where community members feel comfortable expressing their thoughts and views with respectful and non-commercial language. While we monitor our online platforms for deliberately offensive or provocative messages (aka, “trolling”), and we automatically filter comments to flag common objectionable words, advertising, promotion, recruiting, campaigning, lobbying, soliciting, or proselytizing, please pause before posting or replying to improve the likelihood that others can benefit from your perspective on a given topic.

Channel your best self and inner journalist. We want you to share your own thoughts on our public platforms, and you are solely responsible for the content and comments you post. Please help us to ensure that the news we provide is credible and factual by avoiding impersonations and preventing the spread of rumors, allegations, conspiracy theories, and other information that is known to be false or unsubstantiated.

Credit others’ work. If you choose to share a link to relevant content (e.g., a news article) or quote limited amounts of others’ work, please include appropriate attribution and any associated copyright notice as consistent with "fair use" principles of copyright law. External links will be reviewed and approved to reduce spam and advertising.

Respect others’ privacy. We love to learn about new and interesting individuals, but please do not share anyone’s personal contact information on WUNC's discussion threads or social networking features.

Contact us with specific questions, concerns, or tips. For specific questions or issues regarding WUNC policies, WUNC News coverage and editorial content, or to share a news tip, please contact us directly.

These rules may be updated at any time. We hope you benefit from hearing others’ perspectives on our platforms, and we look forward to seeing how you add to the online conversations.