Dear DIY Home & Garden Subscribers,
DIY Home & Garden wants to be a safe online space for all our subscribers, contributors, and staff writers. Unfortunately, we find ourselves in the position of needing to implement an anti-hate speech policy.
Of course, the overwhelming majority of our social media followers and site subscribers are great people. Most of you visit us to engage with other people who have common interests.
So this anti-hate policy is not directed at you. In fact, it takes direct aim at the trolls, instigators, and online bullies.
We love our subscribers, and we appreciate your support of our blog. Never did we think we would come to a point in our society that we needed to moderate comments to the level we now face. We do not wish to violate anyone’s rights to free speech. So we hope you continue to leave comments and engage with us on social media.
In fact, we even like it when you disagree with us. Indeed, disagreement sparks growth. But these discussions must happen in a productive way.
As content creators and writers, we despise censorship.
However, the keyboard warriors and trolls are out there. The comments they make online are things they would never consider saying to somebody’s face. Just as a brick-and-mortar store has a right to create a set of rules and enforce them, we reserve that same right. You would not enter a store and spew hateful speech at other shoppers. Yet, people feel confident in doing exactly that in online environments.
That must stop.
What is hate speech?
We outline our rules and define hate speech in the infographic at the bottom of this page and stand behind this policy.
We do not care even one little bit about your race, religion, who you love, national origin, or your political beliefs. Period. We believe there is already too much hate speech online–and in the world at large. We want our community to encourage each other to learn something new, find information, and share tips. Let’s not tear each other down, let’s build each other up, instead.
Please visit our site with an open heart and mind.
You might believe that talking ugly about others is protected by freedom of speech. But enforcing an anti-hate speech policy is the only way all subscribers will feel free to exercise their God-given rights to freedom of speech. If your comments oppress others on the platform, then we consider them hateful.
Why we implemented this anti-hate speech policy
We recently began to notice multiple hateful comments in our comments section. We deleted these statements for two reasons.
First, we don’t want hateful people commenting on our forums. It makes other people feel intimidated and bullied. These words were inflammatory and hateful by every standard of decency. Leaving these comments on our social media or website is irresponsible and creates barriers in our society that must be uprooted.
Of course, trolls hiding behind fake avatars add zero value to any conversation.
Second, we worked very hard to build this publication. If search engines detect such language, they may decide deplatform our content. We employ three people–and that’s a heavy responsibility. We have three women, including two women of color who rely on the income. Thus, I find this risk unacceptable.
So we thank our authentic and engaged subscribers for your ongoing support. We know that our long-time followers and subscribers will completely understand our position. For those of you who come here to do harm or spread hate speech, know that we see you.
