We welcome relevant, respectful comments. Please refer to our Terms of Service for information on our posting policy.

It's another Democratic presidential primary season at C&L, and that means it's time for a talk.

• We're not going to tolerate attacks on other Democrats because of who they support. Talking about policies is fine; talking about records, platforms, strategy or news items, etc. is fine. But characterizing other commenters in negative terms or bullying them because of who they support is unacceptable. Our terms require relevant, respectful comments. If you have been banned, you are welcome to write and request reinstatement. (If you have been going around to other sites trashing us, we will be somewhat less inclined to welcome you back.)

• You're not "saving the country" by attacking other commenters. Savaging other members in a public forum is not "saving democracy," and it does not build support for your candidate. You are a commenter on a blog, not a Freedom Rider. If you feel that strongly, go volunteer on a campaign and do actual work instead of sitting at a keyboard, insulting people.

• You do not get to insult the staff. You simply have no idea of the hard work all of us do to keep this site going, and you don't get to label, attack or otherwise use the staff here as your rhetorical punching bag. It will not be tolerated. Do you show up at parties and criticize the host? No, you do not. Because if you did, you would be shown the door and never get invited back.

• We want a smart, courteous community, and so we do not want a repeat of 2008, when emotions ran high and readers on both sides left in droves. Please remain focused on beating Republicans, not each other.

• Don't assume all the other readers agree with you. We have a few hundred regular commenters, versus roughly 150K visitors a day. We do hear from readers who are turned off by the nasty comments section, and lurk because they are reluctant to share their thoughts. Should that happen at a progressive site? No. Play nice.

• If you aren't quite sure whether something you're about to write meets our community standards, apply the "Is this something I would say to his/her face?" rule. Err on the side of courtesy. Merely venting your spleen does not benefit the community.