Welcome to the San Diego Free Press! We encourage discussion here and although there aren’t many of them, we have learned that a few simple rules keep things running more smoothly…

It’s our sandbox

We reserve the right to moderate the comments made to this site according to our values, which include respecting diverse opinions and diverse backgrounds, as long as they are respectful of the writers and visitors of this site. You can disagree with someone and be civil.  We also reserve the right to close comments on a post at any time. PS–We can think of no good reason to ever approve a comment typed in ALL CAPS.

Getting to know you

The first time you comment here your comment will go into moderation, so please don’t repost. Once it has been approved, your subsequent comments will appear right away as long as you use the same name and email address. If you change your email or use a different name, you go back to moderation. If you leave an obviously bogus email address or hide behind a username that serves to bring attention to someone other than yourself, don’t expect to see your comment posted.

Stay focused, respectful, truthful

We will delete comments that are abusive, off-topic, use excessive foul language, include personal attacks or include intentionally misleading or false information. One voice of hate can drown out many voices of reason. Comments like these stifle discussion and those who come here for that reason will have their IP address, email address and name put into the moderation list. Continued abuse will result in blacklisting.  It’s a given, that any racist or sexist comments will automatically be deleted.

Spam is absolutely not tolerated

We use Akismet spam filters and while they are generally excellent, occasionally they do catch legitimate comments as spam, especially if they contain multiple links. If you left a comment that has not appeared after more than a day it may have gone into the spam folder. Our apologies but we simply do not always have time to look through the many hundreds of spam comments we may get each day.

Repetition is not the spice of life

If you have made a comment expressing a certain viewpoint, there’s no need to continue to state the same thing over and over and over and—well, you get the point. Like we said before, we welcome comments of a diverse spectrum, and your voice has certainly been heard. Let’s agree to disagree, but agree to keep the conversation moving. Agreed?

There are real live people behind the scenes here

We have lives, children, families and hot meals waiting for us, so we may not be right here, on the spot, all the time. If you left a comment and it has not been posted please be patient. We’ll get to it; there is no need to repost your comment again and again. The subsequent comments will only go into moderation also.

Look down. Do you have a belly button?

If you answered yes to this question, you’re a human—and congrats! And while most of us are sci-fi fans of some sort, we ask that you keep all malicious nonhuman devices—like scrapers, robots, data mining tools or other automated devices—to yourself. Besides which, they’re no match for Patty.

Simple enough! Join the discussion!

Terms and Conditions – Contributor Policy

1. 1. If your work appears on this site, it’s because you have given us permission to publish it. It’s kinda the point of the site – to be a microphone to a multitude of voices and viewpoints that otherwise would not be heard. It should go without saying, then, that the views and opinions expressed in each article published on this site are not necessarily held by the site or staff itself. The content created by non-staff Contributors is the sole responsibility of that Contributor, and the San Diego Free Press (SDFP) does not endorse nor guarantee the accuracy and completeness of said work. We are simply acting as a platform for grassroots publishing.

1. Furthermore, if the SDFP accepts your submission as Contributor in any media format for publication, we retain control of the content – i.e. it belongs to the SDFP. We may further distribute that content in our affiliated outlets, like our Facebook and Twitter pages, email, etc. While you retain the copyright of your original work, SDFP retains the copyright on that content as it is distributed on the SDFP site and affiliated outlets. In other words, we do not “take down” published articles unless these narrow criteria are met:

• • • • The safety of the writer is in jeopardy;
      • The article was improperly vetted by the author (hoax) or sent with intent to deceive (malicious);
      • Under very specific legal direction.

3. 3. We can’t pay you for your submission. Currently, we are an all-volunteer group of citizen journalists dedicating our free time to running, promoting, and maintaining the SDFP. We rely solely on the generous donations of our readers to keep the lights on, and the server up and running.

3. If the content that originates and/or is distributed on the SDFP site is reposted elsewhere:

• • • • Let us know the name of the publication;
      • The SDFP origination MUST be cited.

5. 5. The SDFP can edit the content of your submission, including headlines, subtitles and general layout.

5. 5. Upon submission, you assert that your submission is original work. We don’t tolerate stealing, plagiarism, defamation, or lying. We reserve the right to remove or not publish content without prior notice if necessary. The same goes for images, video, and any other media provided along with your submission. We need to know the source of the additional media (name of the creator, or URL where it can be found). We will not post any such media without the proper attribution. Everyone deserves credit for their work.
      Additionally, your work should not be in violation of any law or contractual agreement. You must advise us if it has been previously posted elsewhere.

5. 5. As a Contributor, you must hold the SDFP harmless. The SDFP is not liable if the content you provide violates someone else’s rights, or for damages regarding your content submission in general. Remember, we are just a platform. If you mess up and suffer harm as a result of a violation of these Terms and Conditions, that’s on you.

5. 5. In the event of a legal dispute between Contributor and the SDFP, the Contributor’s only right to recovery is monetary damages if you win. Disputes are governed by California Law.

5. All legal notices should be addressed to:

San Diego Free Press
c/o OB Rag
P.O. Box 7012
San Diego, CA, 92167

10. 10. As a Contributor, you must read and sign in agreement with our Terms and Conditions prior to the publication of your submission. This can be done by completing the following statement, and copying and pasting it in an email to us: “I, [insert legal first and last name], have read, understand, and agree with the San Diego Free Press Terms and Conditions.” The SDFP and Contributor do not have to sign the same copy of agreement.

10. We’ve already said this a million times, but here’s some legalese to shoosh our lawyers:The SDFPand its affiliates, and their respective members, directors, officers, managers, employees, shareholders, agents and licensors are not liable for incidental, indirect, consequential, special, punitive, or exemplary damages of any kind, including, without limitation, lost revenues or profits, loss of business or loss of data, in any way related to this site or for any claim, loss or injury based on errors, omissions, interruptions or other inaccuracies in our site (including, without limitation, as a result of breach of any warranty or other term of these Terms and Conditions).

Are you still here? Good! Now, for the fun stuff.

1. 1. Most articles are around 1,200 words. You may write less; you may write more, but we’ll probably break it up into multiple parts published on different days so that more people will read it.

1. 1. Please contact us directly if you wish to submit a video, photo-essay, poem or political cartoons.

1. 1. Please use spell check, and edit carefully before you submit.

1. 1. It may take up to a week to post an article unless it’s truly time sensitive. Please let us know in the subject line, i.e. Submission — Time Sensitive.

1. 1. If you state something that isn’t a commonly known fact or as the basis of an argument, you must provide a link to support said statement. If you can’t embed the link, paste it next to the sentence.

1. 1. You can send your articles as an attached Word document, or cut and paste it into body of your email. No PDFs – they are impossible (read: incredibly time consuming) to properly reformat on the SDFP.

1. 1. If you have personal images or have identified a fair use image, attach as a JPEG. This is mentioned above, but it’s worth the repeat: We need to know the source of all non-original images submitted – i.e. the name of photographer or the URL. We will not post the image without proper image attribution.

1. 1. Provide a short biography with your first submission (three to four sentences).

1. 1. We do not publish lengthy academic submissions. Please edit your submission for an audience of laypersons. Specialized vocabulary needs to be defined. Do not use footnotes – use links instead.

1. 1. While we welcome press releases, we generally do not print them. We’re not doing this to repost PR blurbs for commercial enterprises. And we are totally uninterested in sponsored content of any kind.

1. 1. We are a professional organization. That doesn’t mean we don’t make mistakes. If you take issue with your published article or find an editorial error, please contact us directly at sandiegofreepress@gmail.com. Facebook and the public comment section of an article are not the appropriate places to resolve these issues.

1. If you have questions about submitting (in particular how to attach documents or attribute photos), please contact us for assistance.