Submissions - Terms and Conditions

Rules and guidelines for commenting

We invite all readers to contribute as we encourage wide debate. For more information and guidelines on how to submit your comments, see below -

Please note – the majority of comments are post-moderated and must be on-topic and not abusive. Some comments may be pre-moderated and may be edited for clarity, length or have abusive sections removed. APN Online reserves the right to remove comments at any time.

1. Who can submit comments?
2. What are the main rules?
3. Why do the comments I submit not appear immediately?
4. How can I report a comment I think breaks your rules?
5. Why do I have to give personal details with my comments?
6. Can I make suggestions or submit a complaint?
7. What is the nzherald.co.nz's privacy policy?
8. How do I contact the person in charge?

1. Who can submit comments?
All readers are welcome to submit comments on any article where commenting is enabled. Readers much be registered with an APN regional website to post a comment. We encourage wide debate. However, as in any community, there have to be guidelines and rules. Submissions that do not follow those rules will be removed or in the case of pre-moderated comments may be rejected.

2. What are the main rules?
This is a public forum so people have various shades of views. Be courteous, respect other readers' viewpoints. Make others feel comfortable about expressing their thoughts.
- Lively debate is encouraged but your comments must not be personally abusive about people, including others who have had their comments posted. Never use threatening language or terms.
- Do not use swear words. Our commenting system has very strong swear word filters. Comments with swear words in (even abbreviated and text-speak) will not be published on our site.
- In keeping with NZ law, do not use language or make comments that can be considered discriminatory on the basis of race, religion, gender, sexual preference, nationality, age, disability, etc. Your comments must not contain; defamatory, obscene, pornographic, or otherwise illegal material.
- Do not waste your time using the forums to try to spread gossip, breach court orders or make allegations about people.
- If you are a business, please do not use the forums to try to slip in free advertising.
- By submitting a comment you are consenting to its display on the site and for any related online and offline use we choose - including publication in any APN print edition. In submitting the comment, you are agreeing to abide by the rules, take responsibility for your comments and accept that these comments may be edited, deleted or not used.
- We may add guidelines here from time and time as our community develops.

3. Why do the comments I submit not appear immediately?
Currently the majority of submitted comments appear on our sites immediately. Some stories may have comments turned off. Some stories will have pre-moderated comments, meaning those comments are reviewed by a moderator before any are posted online. This is to make sure that comments adhere to our guidelines.

4. How can I report a comment I think breaks your rules?

Having read our rules, if you think a published comment has stepped over the line, it is a simple process to report it to us. At the bottom of the comment, simply click on the link labelled 'Suggest removal". This will alert our moderators who will review the comment. Remember, just disagreeing with someone's opinion is not a good enough reason for us to remove the comment.

5. Why do I have to give some personal details when sending in my comments?
We are trying to ask the bare minimum, as we want to encourage free debate. We generally ask you only once for your details, then send you an email to confirm your registration. It'll only take a few moments and once you've registered you can submit a comment whenever you like.
We would prefer you to allow your full name to be published with your comments as happens in letters published in the newspaper. However, we appreciate that this does not suit some people, if this is the case choose a different first and last name in your profile or enter a nickname in the first and last name fields. You can change your profile at any time by logging into your account and clicking on “My profile”.
There are times when we need to clarify something. By providing your email address and a phone number during the registration process allows us to do this if necessary. We also feel that this is a show of good faith that you are genuine in the views you have submitted. We will not publish your email address or phone number.

6. Can I make suggestions or submit a complaint?
Enjoy the opportunity to engage in healthy debate. We look forward to reading them.
If you have any general thoughts about our community offerings, or consider something published inappropriate, let us know.