Please read this policy statement before using Newsline’s online services. This document is an integral part of the User Agreement for the website of Newsline Publications (Pvt.) Ltd. (”Newsline,” “we” or “our”) and establishes the conditions by which readers can comment on and challenge editorial content on newslinemagazine.com (”Website”). By using newslinemagazine.com, you agree to abide by these rules governing content and participation by our readers.

I. Introduction:

We intend newslinemagazine.com to be a place for vibrant discussion of intelligent opinions. You are invited to join in this discussion, to contribute your thoughts, feelings and reflections on domestic and international policy relating to Pakistan, in addition to a multitude of other subjects. We do hope that you join us, as we not only appreciate your readership but also seek your involvement in helping to make our website dynamic, thoughtful and diverse.

II. Participation:

If you would like to participate, we ask that you embrace and honour the core values that govern our discussion:

1. Respect
2. Transparency
3. Authenticity

All decisions regarding the publication of comments and content on this site will be made by the Newsline editorial team with deep consideration toward upholding these values in everything we do. We ask that you take the same consideration when submitting material to the Website.

III. Values:

In order to clarify how we currently think about our values, we’d like to list some of the ideas we believe flow from them. Many of the thoughts that follow reflect the “Blogger’s Code of Conduct,” an effort to articulate a values-based, self-governing approach to online community participation. We embrace the desire to further open dialog among individuals who respect each other.

i) Agree to Disagree

We strive to post high-quality, acceptable content. We take responsibility for our own words and ask others to do so as well. We “agree to disagree” and strive to conduct all discussions in a civil and respectful manner. We respect everyone’s right to speak his or her mind.

ii) Honest and Respectful Commentary

As an edited publication, we reserve the right to restrict or remove comments from our publication that do not conform to our standards or uphold our values. We believe unacceptable comments include (but are not limited to) those that:

• are derogatory based on race, religion, colour, national origin, disability, sexual orientation and/or otherwise derogatory
• abuse, harass, stalk or threaten others
• use excessive foul language
• are libellous or knowingly false
• intentionally or unwittingly do harm
• are solicitations or advertising, in whole or part
• infringe upon any copyright, trademark or trade secret of any third party. (We respect the rights of original creators. If you quote or excerpt someone’s content, please provide proper attribution to the original author)
• violate an obligation of confidentiality
• violate the privacy of others
• breach our User Agreement or Privacy Policy

We rely on users to tell us when they think a comment is abusive, offensive or otherwise unacceptable. Please email us or leave a comment saying so. If you feel that a particular comment is violating this policy or harming the community discussion, please let us know immediately.

We define and determine what is “unacceptable content” on a case-by-case basis, and our definitions are not limited to this list.

iii) Transparency

Because we embrace transparency, we will try (but do not guarantee), upon request, to note and explain our reasons for the editorial manipulation or deletion of any comment or link.

iv) Anonymity

We invite you to think out loud, to share your thoughts and reflections, and to transparently participate in the discussion. We will identify ourselves clearly and ask that you honestly identify yourself before participating.

We believe that, in most cases, anonymous or pseudonymous comments are inconsistent with our values and will ask you to provide a valid email address before allowing you to post. If you betray the community trust and misidentify yourself, we reserve the right to reveal that information if we feel its serves the best interests of the community.

After identifying yourself, should you wish to contribute something to the discussion but desire to remain anonymous because it puts you at risk of financial or personal harm (i.e. corporate or government whistleblowers), please feel free to submit such content directly to our Editor via our Letters to the Editor, or via email to online-editor@newsline.com.pk. We respect your desire for privacy and make a considered, journalistic decision whether and under what conditions to publish your content. We will consult with you before doing so. As professional journalists, we will not violate your expressed privacy in these instances. (As stated earlier, the revelation of trade secrets will not justify this consideration. Please don’t submit them. We deem them unacceptable violations of our core values.)

We will strive to be transparent in all that we do, but we understand that the cause of journalistic expression sometimes requires the use of unnamed sources. When and if we cite unnamed or pseudonymous sources in our reporting, we will clearly state our actions. We reserve the right to keep our sources private.

IV. Challenging Content

Other than flagging questionable comments as specified in Section III.ii, readers can challenge editorial content published by Newsline. Leave a comment after the article or send an email to the online editor: onlineeditor@newslinemagazine.com.

i) Copyright Complaints

Newsline respects the intellectual property of others, and we ask our users to do the same. If you believe that your work has been copied and is accessible on the Website in a way that constitutes copyright infringement, or that the Website contains links or other references to another online location that contains material or activity that infringes your copyright rights, you may notify us and provide supporting documentation. Contact the online editor via email at onlineeditor@newslinemagazine.com.

ii) Accuracy

If you believe Newsline has made factual errors in any of its online reports/articles/posts, you can notify the Online Editor via email at onlineeditor@newslinemagazine.com stating the mistake and providing the correct, verifiable information.

V. Welcome!

We hope that these thoughts shed light on our intentions, processes, and desires. As our thinking and experience evolve, we will amend this statement to more clearly communicate who we are and what we seek to achieve. As such, please check this statement regularly for changes. Your continued use of the Website is considered as your acceptance of all changes to this document.

Notwithstanding anything to the contrary herein, this policy is not intended, and may not be relied upon to, and does not, create any right enforceable by any party other than Newsline or require Newsline to take or refrain from taking any action (including but not limited to removing comments).

Last updated on November 20, 2009.