Comment & user-generated content policy

Status

This policy is a first draft and will be reviewed by a California media-law attorney before launch. The §230 analysis below is part of why this policy exists at launch.

What this covers

This policy applies to:

• Comments left on Pier and Point articles (when comment threads are enabled).
• Tips submitted through tips@pierandpoint.com or our tip form.
• Letters to the editor submitted for publication.
• Any other content you submit to us in any channel that we may republish.

It does not apply to AI-drafted, human-edited Pier and Point editorial content. That content is governed by our AI usage, ethics, and sourcing policies.

We do not pre-screen user content

Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (47 U.S.C. § 230) protects an interactive computer service from being treated as the publisher of information provided by another content provider. To preserve that protection for user-submitted content, we do not pre-screen comments. We do not review every comment for accuracy before it is posted. We do not endorse user comments by failing to remove them.

We may, in our sole discretion, remove or refuse to post user content for any reason or no reason — and doing so does not waive any §230 protection.

Standards for user-submitted content

Content submitted to Pier and Point should not:

• Defame an identifiable person.
• Threaten, harass, or incite violence against any person or group.
• Disclose nonpublic personally identifying information about a person without their consent.
• Infringe a copyright or other intellectual-property right (see DMCA).
• Promote unlawful activity.
• Be commercial spam.

We may remove content that violates these standards. We are under no obligation to do so.

Letters to the editor

We may publish letters to the editor submitted with the writer’s name attached. We do not publish anonymous letters. We may edit letters for length, clarity, and accuracy of fact. We do not edit letters in a way that misrepresents the writer’s position.

Reporting harmful content

If you see user-submitted content on Pier and Point that you believe violates this policy, email comments@pierandpoint.com with the URL and a description of the issue.

A first-party AI distinction

§230 protections likely do not extend to first-party AI-drafted content that Pier and Point publishes as its own editorial. We treat that content as our own publishing decision and accept full first-party liability for it. See our AI usage policy for the human-in-the-loop process that governs our editorial.