Seriously good news

At Eternity News, we believe that the gospel is seriously good news for all people. We’re passionate about reporting seriously good news, reporting good news seriously and reporting news in a seriously good way.

We’re also committed to creating spaces where Eternity News readers can have seriously good conversations about the news –  exploring what it means to be people of faith in our world.

And we believe that all our conversations – even robust disagreements – can be conducted in a manner that is respectful of the image of God that is in all people, even in a group that is as broad and diverse as our Eternity readership!

Online conversations

We believe that online conversations are real life conversations, so we approach them by asking, “Would I say these things if I were sitting across from the person I am speaking to?”

We want to create forums where online conversations add personal insight and fresh perspective to the news we report, so, we’re looking for comments that are:

• Relevant and on topic
• Well-informed and thoughtful
• Expressed respectfully
• Framed personally with “I” statements (that speak on behalf of the author, not others)
• Concerned with drawing out the implications of ideas discussed in our articles
• Inclusive of all those who contribute their perspectives, particularly those people whose voices can be marginalised in public conversations.

In contrast, we are not interested in online conversations that are dominated by only a few individuals who express ‘the same old ideas’ again and again, so we’re not looking for comments that are:

• Unrelated to the article’s content and/or are instead an off-topic response to the article’s subject matter, image or headline
• Statements of opinion, expressed as if they are fact
• Derisive or attacking of others who express different opinions
• Reinforcing of stereotypes and generalisations, especially about people you disagree with
• Framed with ‘he, she or they’ statements (that speak on behalf of others)

Eternity News guidelines for social media users

Eternity News seeks to nurture a space where healthy online conversations can flourish. We therefore will not tolerate comments or users that:

• Intimidate others– including comments that attack, threaten or intimidate others, express profanity or bigotry or incite violence, that personally attack individuals, be they an article’s author or subject, or fellow commenters.
• Promote unauthorised material– including material that is in breach of copyright, material promotes commercial ventures, and links to articles or blogs that Eternity News does not deem to be credible sources.
• Stifle healthy conversation– employ an especially aggressive tone, that are excessive in number, or that are deemed to be ‘trolling’ (i.e. commenting merely so as to exact a response from others).
• Are legally dangerous for us as a publisher– including material that is in breach of copyright, and comments that are libelous or defamatory, or that speak on behalf other people or groups (particularly when asserting their motivation).

In the event that a comment is deemed to breach our guidelines, Eternity News will delete the comment and send the commenter a direct message with further information explaining why. Commenters will be given the opportunity to revise their comment so that it adheres to our guidelines and post it again.

Continual failures to adhere to Eternity News’ Guidelines will result in users being blocked. Users who are blocked may not receive a warning, and are invited to email us through our websiteto learn more about the decision.

Eternity News will not pre-emptively block individuals whose profiles contravene our guidelines, but will judge individuals on the basis of their contributions to Eternity News forums.

Corrections to Eternity News articles

We appreciate when readers and people quoted in articles point out errors of fact or emphasis and will investigate all assertions. These suggestions should be sent via email through our website here.

To avoid distracting online conversations, comments suggesting a correction will be redirected to our corrections process to be answered by the author, rather than with a quick response from a social media moderator.

This will ensure a speedier correction when required.

Thanks for making Eternity News forums a safe environment for healthy discussions about good news.

Seriously, thanks.