For participating on my YouTube channel there are a few rules that you need to be aware of. Not following them can result in your material being removed or you being blocked on my channel.

These rules do not supersede, negate or replace the YouTube TOS or the YouTube Community Guidelines. They are extra rules that I use to keep exchanges productive.

Comment moderation

My comment moderation policy is a simplified version of the “Terms and Conditions of Use” as used for Real Skeptic. I recommend reading it if you want a more detailed explanation as to how these rules are applied. However, the rules below are more easily digested and suffice for knowing what is and isn’t allowed.

The rules that you must follow on any of my videos are the following, they are enforced, and there are no exceptions:

1. No spamming, comment flooding or self-promotion
2. No sockpuppets
3. No threatening behaviour
4. No stalking
5. No libel or character assassination
6. No bigoted comments
7. No unsourced claims
8. No uncivil behaviour
9. No factually incorrect claims
10. No disabling of replies on comments you place (any comments with the reply function disabled will be removed)
11. No other languages allowed than English

If I notice an infraction of these rules which is severe enough I’ll delete your comment. You can always ask why a comment was removed and discuss this matter further with me. However, discussions about moderation should be done via private messages on YouTube or via the contact form. If you don’t your comment will most likely be removed as I don’t allow discussing moderation in the comment sections of videos. Please note that all comments that I delete are archived, a note added for the reason, and the date and time it was removed are also stored.

If you notice a comment breaking the rules, and it looks like I didn’t notice it, please do not hesitate to send me a private message on YouTube and I’ll evaluate the comment.

Block policy

In the case you are blocked by me you can submit an appeal by sending me a message through the contact form.

You can also politely ask to participate again. If I’m of the opinion that the message you sent shows that you won’t cause any further infractions of my channel rules there’s a good chance the block will be lifted. However, any new infractions within 7 days will lead to an immediate block.

When you’re blocked this means you will not be able to participate on my channel for at least one month (rarely is a block permanent). At the beginning of each new month I will go through my block list and unblock anyone who was blocked about a month ago. If for some reason your account is not granted access after this period please contact me and I’ll look into the matter.

Private messages

All messages that I receive are read but I cannot guarantee that this will be in a timely fashion or that you will receive a response. This is due to me having limited time in responding to messages and unfortunately I have to make choices to whom and what I respond to. If you have a message that is truly important, and I have to respond to in a timely fashion, I recommend sending a brief and to the point message via the contact form on this website.

I do not engage in discussions via private messages on YouTube. These tend to grow in scope and take up a lot of time without them being visible to the public. This makes these exchanges time-consuming and unproductive for me.