The Downballot’s community rules of the road
Welcome to The Downballot!
In addition to the copious content we publish, The Downballot is home to a vibrant community of election enthusiasts and has been since 2003. Here you’ll find one of the most thoughtful, high-quality discussion forums on the internet, on any topic.
To help us keep it that way, we’ve established some broad guidelines over the years—our “rules of the road.” We expect everyone who participates here to uphold these principles. We’ve always moderated this community carefully and closely. Violators may be banned, temporarily or permanently.
What follows is not a strict legal code, so please don’t use it to “rules lawyer” fellow community members. Rather, if someone is not living up to these guidelines, you can provide a link to this post and encourage them to consider how it applies to the situation at hand.
Moderating any community requires making judgment calls, so please don’t look for loopholes—there aren’t any. We ask that you respect the choices we have made and will make, even if you disagree.
In the event of a serious problem, click on the ellipsis to the right of a comment and select “Report,” as shown below. Moderators review all comment reports. Abuse of this feature may result in sanction.
Be excellent to each other.
There’s a human behind every username you see. We are all striving to do our best. Extending your kindness and grace to your fellow community members—and giving them the benefit of the doubt—will go a long way toward ensuring this community remains the sort of place we all want it to be.
Hateful speech and conduct are strictly forbidden.
This should go without saying, but we have an extremely low tolerance for bad behavior and will clamp down accordingly. Transgressors will face sanctions.
This is a Democratic presidential primary-free zone.
Our community has long been a haven for those who wish to avoid divisive debates about Democratic presidential primaries. Please respect that choice—there are tons of other places on the internet to discuss this topic. This restriction applies to any race in the 21st century, past and future.
No political gambling.
Using data from betting/prediction markets as an analytical tool, and discussion of personal wagering, is not permitted. Discussions of news related to these topics are allowed.
Our focus is politics, not policy.
Our mission has always been to shine a light on downballot elections because they never get the attention they deserve. We don’t ban policy discussions, but we give them a very short leash. And please avoid the Israeli-Palestinian conflict altogether. Again, there are plenty of places to discuss it—just not here.
Refrain from discussing candidates’ physical appearances.
While there may be some small electoral effects related to a candidate’s attractiveness (or lack thereof), the value of discussing such effects is minimal compared to our paramount goal of maintaining a healthy and welcoming environment.
Debate the comment, not the commenter.
The best kinds of discussion focus on the substance; the worst devolve into personal attacks. If you disagree with someone, remember you’re disagreeing with what they’ve said, not with who they are. Don’t let it get personal. By the same token, don’t drag in disputes from old threads, or bring them in from other places.
Be conscientious about the links you share.
Not only is there so much mis- and disinformation out there, there’s just a lot of lousy reporting, AI slop, and accounts masquerading as reporters that don’t actually adhere to any semblance of journalistic ethics. In particular, do not repost low-quality accounts that purport to share news but do not provide links or proper sourcing.
And above all, have fun!