Joanne Burghardt, Editor-in-Chief

Hello, we hope you're enjoying reading and participating in blogs at northumberlandnews.com.

The goal of our blogs is to provide staff and public members who have an area of expertise an opportunity to share their insights with you in a fun and interactive format.  We stress fun...we're not here to facilitate personal attacks, nor accusations spewed by those who scurry about behind a cloak of anonymity.

Comments are moderated by the editors of the Northumberland News and those selected for publication will:

• Be tightly written and on the topic of the post
• Present a fresh thought and not a repeat of a point previously made
• Get bonus points for proper spelling and grammar

Healthy debate of the issues is what we're here for, but you won’t get past the starting gate if you ignore our guidelines. That means:

• No statements that are potentially libelous  (calling someone a liar is a definite no-no).
• No statements of fact that can not be readily proven. If you're going to say something is so, please back that statement up with the data you used to arrive at that statement - we don't have time to track it down for you.
• No obscene or racist comments or inappropriate language (no, you can't call someone a dumb ass nor make sweeping derogatory statements about any group of people.)
• No personal attacks or comments that in tone or substance cross the boundary of good taste.
• No fake names, no witty pseudonyms, no anonymous comments. Please include your full first and last name. We feel strongly about this one - we put our names on the blogs and expect you to do the same. Anyone found to be lying about their identity will be permanently banned from participating.
• No using multiple identities from one IP address.

If you ignore these guidelines you run the risk of being banned.