Thank you for joining Current! These Community Guidelines were created to help our community better understand how to contribute content, participate in discussions, and vote on items on Current.com.

Keep in mind, your participation on Current is subject to these Guidelines and our Terms of Use.

Be respectful.

Everyone is entitled to an opinion. Remember what we all learned in kindergarten? Treat others the way you'd like to be treated.

Take a deep breath.

Things can get heated. If you think you might be getting too worked up, take a second to think about what you'd like to say before you post.

Send us a flag.

If you think someone's crossed a line, let us know on our feedback page or by emailing moderators@current.com.

Share with Current.

The more people participating, the better chance for enriching discussions. We have lots of ways to share, so why not try them out?

Keep an open mind.

Be open to learning from each other. Differences of opinion help broaden perspectives, and you might be surprised by the things you can agree to disagree on.

Use protection.

You're responsible for any activity that happens under your username. Thus, you should always protect your password by keeping it secret and safe.

Most of the time, people deserve a second chance. However, if these issues become an ongoing problem, your profile could be subject to a suspension or even removal without warning.

Theft.

Stealing isn't cool, even online. Make sure you're not passing off other people's videos, text, or photos as your own.

Spam and promotion.

Spam includes a lot of different things, but it's still the online equivalent of someone getting in your face with a megaphone. Current is not the place for SEO bait. It’s also not a place where you can post a link to your blog or website over and over again. Or repeat one message in the comments of every story. If we find spam, we'll remove it. Don't do it.

Please note that we use spam filter software to weed out some of the more egregious violations. This filter is automatic and sometimes incorrectly marks normal users' posts as spam. If this happens to you, please email moderators@current.com.

Personal attacks.

We can't always agree on everything, and that's fine. But stick to debating the point, not attacking the other person. If you feel you are the victim of a personal attack, you can flag the comment or let us know by emailing moderators@current.com.

Starting fires.

Saying something unpopular is one thing. Deliberately stirring up trouble for troll bait is another. Bottom line: Don't be a jerk.

Naughty bits.

The Internet may be for porn, but Current is not. Sure, sharing is caring. But porn, gratuitous images, and/or sexualized nudity are not the kind of contributions we're looking for.

Violent or graphic images.

Sometimes the news is ugly, but there is a limit. If you're linking to graphic images, please leave a warning and select a less upsetting thumbnail.

Ganging up/Harassment.

Everyone is entitled to an opinion. Harassing or ganging up on those who disagree with you is not cool. Why not give our "Good ideas" section another read?

Being a hater.

Hate speech, racism, and bigotry are unacceptable. Remember, just because someone disagrees with you on an issue doesn't necessarily make their statements hate speech.

Posting private information.

Posting emails, private messages, addresses, or other identifying information about others is not okay. Let other people decide how much of their information to share, and when to share it. If it's not in their Current.com profile, then they probably don't want to share it here.

In addition, posting inappropriate content regarding Current TV personnel is considered in violation of our guidelines and will be removed in accordance with our Terms of Use.

Being a creep.

Socializing with others online can be fun, enriching, and informative. Just don't go there.

Creating multiple accounts.

Gaming the system or getting around a suspension or ban by creating a new account is not acceptable.

Overflagging.

We rely on flags to help us identify inappropriate content, however misusing flags or continuing to flag content or certain community members that aren't in violation is unacceptable.

Excessive profanity.

We're all adults here, and we understand that things can get heated. But excessive profanity isn't cool.

Libel or defamation.

Posting defamatory or false statements about others is a bad idea. Note: public figures are subject to different standards.

Dissing the mods.

Our Community staff is here to keep Current a fun place to talk about news on the Internet. While we are always open to feedback, openly dissing the mods is frowned upon. Attacks on specific members of the Current Community staff will not be tolerated.

In Conclusion

We've crafted these guidelines to ensure that everyone within the community has the best experience possible. Keeping Current an enjoyable experience is everyone's responsibility - it starts by being accountable for your behavior on the site. If you don't feel that you can abide by our Community Guidelines as outlined above, maybe Current isn't for you.

- last updated July 2012 -