Daily Whackjob

In late December, 2006, after a vicious fight in the VA blogosphere over blogging ethics, the Daily Whackjob adopted this guide for all contributors. The guide is purposely vague in many areas as to not stifle the message or style of the individual contributor while maintaining high standards of conduct. These guidelines are originally based on those found at Bacon’s Rebellion.

1. Contributors are responsible for their own words. While contributors are allowed to post under a pseudonym, an e-mail address for the contributor must be prominently displayed either on the sidebar for regular contributors or in individual posts for guest contributors.
2. Contributors will refrain from knowingly false rumors and accusations, slander, mean-spirited attacks, and posting articles for which they receive compensation. Any unconfirmed information will be identified as such, and should the information be determined to be false or incorrect at a later date, a retraction and if necessary and apology will be added to the original post as well as in a new post on the front page.
3. Contributors will avoid unfair characterizations of the news and opinions published by others. [Unless you can get Whackette to type: "Jesus loves strippers."]
4. Contributors will credit all sources.
5. Satirical material that seeks to appear as factual work will be easily identifiable either by a later-determined category or by a disclaimer at the bottom of the post.
6. Contributors will protect sources and redact all identifiable information. E-mail addresses will not be published except in cases where it is approved and to the advantages of the sender (e.g. campaigns or organizations that regularly publish the e-mail address).
7. General terms like racist, xenophobe, and homophobe when applied to particular individuals will be the exception. Contributors should seek to identify examples of behavior instead of resorting to name-calling. Using these terms to identify behavior (e.g. homophobic behavior) is acceptable.
8. Contributors will use correct terminology when referring to groups. The term Muslim will not be used to identify Islamic Terrorists, nor will the term Christian be used to identify Christian Fundamentalists.
9. Foul language or graphic images should be used sparingly, and with a warning in the heading. Graphic images should be placed below the fold (i.e. using the “more” option). Contributor rants of an insulting, foul nature should also be below the fold. Basically, contributors who feel the need to go off should do it below the fold and provide a warning beforehand.
10. The publisher will not censor or edit posts except in violation of the above guidelines and only after providing the individual contributor the opportunity to resolve the issue.
11. The publisher pledges to be accessible to readers and to respond to their complaints and suggestions.

Adopted: