Nature Community Guidelines

To ensure that everyone has an enjoyable time on our websites and social media pages, we ask you to please follow a few basic ground rules. They outline what we consider to be acceptable and unacceptable. We may update these guidelines from time to time, so please read them before posting. 

1. We welcome your opinions

Express your opinions and support them with evidence and facts (accurate ones, that is). You can express a strong opinion but please do not go over the top.

2. Be yourself

Please use your real name, or personal profile when posting. Never impersonate another person.  Impersonating someone else could be cause for us to block or ban you from our websites or social media pages. If you have a personal connection to a story or topic, you should disclose your connection or, where appropriate, not comment at all.

3. Remember, our websites and social media profiles are a public forum

Once your comment is online, everyone with Internet access may be able to read it. Don't forget that you are legally responsible for what you submit. Please consider how your comment could be received by others. Please make your comment clear to ensure that it is not misunderstood. Many different types of people of different ages may view your comment.

4. Cite your sources

Attribute quotes and paraphrased comments to their proper sources. We encourage people to use reputable sources when providing evidence, which includes prominent publications and scholarly journals. 

5. Stay focused on science and research

Our websites and social media profiles are for scientists and researchers. There are lots of other websites you can use to discuss other topics. Please keep within the bounds of a topic as initiated. Do not sway the discussion towards your own pet topic or set off on a tangent. Be succinct. We may hide or delete any posts that are off-topic, or irrelevant to the topic in hand.

6. Contribute new information to the discussion

Add a unique perspective, a constructive argument, a thoughtful question or new information. Read the comments in a discussion thread before posting your own so you don't repeat what's already been said. If you find factual errors, politely point them out and explain why you believe that the statements are wrong.

7. No libel or other abuse

You must not make or encourage comments which are:

  •  defamatory, false or misleading;
  •  insulting, threatening or abusive;
  •  obscene or of a sexual nature;
  •  offensive, racist, sexist, homophobic or discriminatory against any religions or other groups.

We may hide or delete any posts that infringe the above rules. Persistent offenders may be banned or blocked from our social media pages, or removed from our websites.

8. Report inappropriate comments

We strongly support the Nature Portfolio community in maintaining high standards of participation. If you consider that a comment does not comply with these Guidelines or our Terms, please use the relevant Report Comment facility on Facebook, located next to the comment in issue - or report it to the administrator of the social media page or website. This facility should only be used for serious complaints, not simply because you disagree with something said.

9. Watch your language

Please be polite. Do not use swear words, profane, crude or sexual language. Don't engage in emotional flame wars. Do not ‘troll’ other users or us. We may hide or delete any posts that infringe this rule. Persistent offenders may be banned or blocked from our social media pages or removed from our websites.

10. Don't sell or promote stuff

If you have a product or service to sell or promote, you can buy advertising from us. Visit our advertising partnerships website to learn more about the services we offer. We may hide or delete any posts that infringe this rule.

11. Don't post essays or technical reports

Our websites and social media pages are for scientific discussion and conversation. It's not the place to self-publish papers, reports or long descriptions of your theories or hypotheses. You can do that on your personal website or social media profile. We may hide or delete any posts that do not comply with this rule.

12. Don't infringe copyright

If you want to upload a copy of an image, text or any other content, make sure you have the right to reproduce them. Posting copyright material without permission may be unlawful. We may hide or delete any post that contains copyrighted material.

13. Don't post inappropriate links

You can only post links to another website if the content on that other site abides with these Guidelines. This also includes not posting false or misleading information and conspiracy theories. Persistently breaking this rule may result in a ban or block from our social media pages, or a removal of the user from our websites.

14. Don't violate someone else's privacy

You can post personal and contact information about yourself if you really want (but do remember our websites and social media pages are a public forum), but don't post anyone else's personal details or contact information. Doing so may result in block or ban from our websites and social media pages. 

15. Removing inappropriate content

Comments, posts or replies that violate the letter or spirit of these Guidelines may be removed or hidden. Sometimes, a comment may be removed because it is connected to another comment which is being removed.

If you are aware that content has been removed, you must not deliberately resubmit the same content. Persistent posters of inappropriate content may be blocked or banned from our website or social media profiles.