InternetBackstage covers real people and real events. The comments section exists for genuine discussion — about the story, the evidence, what it means. These guidelines exist to keep it that way.
What we expect
Talk about the story. Discuss what happened, what the evidence shows, what it means. Personal attacks on other commenters are not discussion — they're noise.
Be specific. If you think our coverage is wrong or missing something, say so with details. Vague accusations and unsourced claims don't help anyone.
Disagree with us. If you think we got something wrong, tell us. We read the comments. We take corrections seriously. Disagreement is welcome — bad faith isn't.
One account per person. Creating multiple accounts to evade a ban or amplify your own comments is grounds for permanent removal.
What is not allowed
Harassment. Targeting, threatening, or coordinating against any individual — whether a subject of our coverage or another commenter — is grounds for immediate ban. We cover drama. We don't facilitate it.
Doxxing. Posting someone's personal information — home address, phone number, workplace, family members — is not permitted under any circumstances, regardless of who the person is or what they did.
False factual claims. Stating something as fact that you know isn't true, especially about a real person, is not protected by "it's just my opinion." Don't do it.
Spam. Promotional content, repeated identical posts, and bot behaviour will be removed without warning.
Hate content. Content targeting people based on race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, disability, or national origin is not permitted.
Content involving minors. Any content that sexualises, targets, or endangers minors results in an immediate permanent ban and will be reported to relevant authorities.
On pile-ons
The people we write about are real people. Some of them did terrible things. That doesn't make them fair game for coordinated harassment. Our job is to document what happened. The comments section is not a space to celebrate someone's downfall or organise campaigns against them. We will remove content that crosses that line regardless of how bad the subject of the article is.
Enforcement
New accounts have comments held for review before they appear publicly. Repeated violations result in permanent bans. We don't debate moderation decisions in the comments — if you think a decision was wrong, contact us directly.