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Responsible, respectable commenting

As part of our community, we want you to feel free to share your opinions, and have your voice heard, but we reserve the right to accept, reject or delete any comment in whole or in part in order to maintain a positive, safe, non-threatening space for debate and discussion.

Please participate in the Washington Blade community with respect and good humor. Please do not use our comments sections to promote other websites or organizations, to bully or harass other commenters, article subjects or Blade contributors, to promote non-germane or irrelevant content, or use offensive language.

If accepted, we will not edit your comment other than to remove elements that violate our terms.

Elements of your comment that may be deleted before posting:

  • Profanity
  • Links to outside sites
  • Name-calling
  • Spamming or posting the same or similar language in comments on multiple articles

Comments accepted in part with elements removed will be clearly noted as such.

Comments that will be rejected:

  • Text of articles from other websites
  • Comments deemed racist, sexist, xenophobic, or otherwise defamatory
  • ‘Comment spam,’ or comments posted verbatim in several places
  • Ads or promotions by other organizations
  • Comments whose contents show an excessive use of CAPS LOCK

Comments may be automatically held for moderation by our system, depending on certain variables. If you are a first time commenter your comment is automatically held for moderation as well. If a comment is held for moderation, it may appear as if it is not posting properly, or the comment may disappear after a page refresh. This does not mean your comment has been removed, it simply means it is waiting on manual approval from one of our editors. Editors check for pending comments several times daily, however, your comment may take several hours to appear in some cases. There is no need to contact us in these cases.

Citing and quoting on your website

We welcome fair use of brief, choice excerpts of text content from the Washington Blade’s website with attribution. However — if you are thinking of quoting content from the Blade — here are some guidelines to be sure you are doing so appropriately.

Attribution:

All text lifted from the Blade should be attributed to both the Blade and the author of the piece and linked to the original article. If possible please link back to the original text that the quote is lifted from. For example:

Jon Doe at the Washington Blade writes “This will open a door for the community in the future.”

Quoting:

When quoting more than two or three sentences in a row, we prefer the quote be offset in block quote style, to separate the lifted Blade content from your original content.

Please do not quote more than two whole paragraphs of text at a time. If you’d like your readers to read more of a piece, please refer them to the original piece and provide a link.

Modification:

Quoting accurately is very important, and if modifications are made to the text lifted from the Blade, the modifications should be made clear and obvious and remarks included with the quote should make clear the text has been modified. This includes adding bold, italics, or strike-through elements, underlining, substituting words, or other modifications. Word or capitalization substitutions should be made within brackets or outside of quotation marks, and if sentences are only being used in part, an ellipses should indicate the abridging.

Sharing on social media networks:

Sharing links to Washington Blade content on social media networks is permitted and encouraged. Please use built-in link-sharing mechanisms on sites like Facebook and Google+, rather than copying and pasting full text of articles, which is a violation of copyright.

Republishing of RSS feed

The Washington Blade explicitly does not allow the republishing of our content through RSS feed or otherwise without express permission. The Washington Blade does not allow the republishing of full articles or similar behavior without express permission. The Washington Blade reserves the right to pursue legal action against violators of fair use, instances of plagiarism, copyright infringement or other instances of piracy.

Special arrangements

In order to create special arrangements for other terms regarding using Blade content, please contact us. We have created special relationships with non-commercial entities to allow unique terms for short-term content use.

Using photos

The Washington Blade employs several photographers and creates thousands of original images a year which many publications have requested to use in the past. When using images on the web, its important that you know that you have rights to use the images to keep yourself safe from legal action.

Washington Blade file photos are copyright protected and are not free to use. Fair use does not apply to most Blade file photos in most situations. We do have photos available for sale for one time use with a commercial license at our web store. If you would like to make a special arrangement to use one or several photos in a way that does not apply to our commercial license policy, please contact us and we will try to come to an agreement with you.

Purchase of a commercial license photo does not include permission to modify, nor does it include unlimited use. In order to obtain special photo permissions, please contact us to arrange terms.

The Washington Blade reserves the right to pursue legal action against instances of copyright infringement.

Cookies Policy

Last updated: March 22, 2024

This Cookies Policy explains what Cookies are and how We use them. You should read this policy so You can understand what type of cookies We use, or the information We collect using Cookies and how that information is used.

Cookies do not typically contain any information that personally identifies a user, but personal information that we store about You may be linked to the information stored in and obtained from Cookies. For further information on how We use, store and keep your personal data secure, see our Privacy Policy.

We do not store sensitive personal information, such as mailing addresses, account passwords, etc. in the Cookies We use.

Interpretation and Definitions

Interpretation

The words of which the initial letter is capitalized have meanings defined under the following conditions. The following definitions shall have the same meaning regardless of whether they appear in singular or in plural.

Definitions

For the purposes of this Cookies Policy:

  • Company (referred to as either “the Company”, “We”, “Us” or “Our” in this Cookies Policy) refers to Brown, Naff, Pitts, Omni Media, PO Box 53352, Washington, DC 20009.
  • Cookies means small files that are placed on Your computer, mobile device or any other device by a website, containing details of your browsing history on that website among its many uses.
  • Website refers to Washington Blade, accessible from https://www.washingtonblade.com/
  • You means the individual accessing or using the Website, or a company, or any legal entity on behalf of which such individual is accessing or using the Website, as applicable.

The use of the Cookies

Type of Cookies We Use

Cookies can be “Persistent” or “Session” Cookies. Persistent Cookies remain on your personal computer or mobile device when You go offline, while Session Cookies are deleted as soon as You close your web browser.

We use both session and persistent Cookies for the purposes set out below:

Necessary / Essential Cookies

Type: Session Cookies

Administered by: Us

Purpose: These Cookies are essential to provide You with services available through the Website and to enable You to use some of its features. They help to authenticate users and prevent fraudulent use of user accounts. Without these Cookies, the services that You have asked for cannot be provided, and We only use these Cookies to provide You with those services.

Functionality Cookies

Type: Persistent Cookies

Administered by: Us

Purpose: These Cookies allow us to remember choices You make when You use the Website, such as remembering your login details or language preference. The purpose of these Cookies is to provide You with a more personal experience and to avoid You having to re-enter your preferences every time You use the Website.

Tracking and Performance Cookies

Type: Persistent Cookies

Administered by: Third-Parties

Purpose: These Cookies are used to track information about traffic to the Website and how users use the Website. The information gathered via these Cookies may directly or indirectly identify you as an individual visitor. This is because the information collected is typically linked to a pseudonymous identifier associated with the device you use to access the Website. We may also use these Cookies to test new pages, features or new functionality of the Website to see how our users react to them.

Targeting and Advertising Cookies

Type: Persistent Cookies

Administered by: Third-Parties

Purpose: These Cookies track your browsing habits to enable Us to show advertising which is more likely to be of interest to You. These Cookies use information about your browsing history to group You with other users who have similar interests. Based on that information, and with Our permission, third party advertisers can place Cookies to enable them to show adverts which We think will be relevant to your interests while You are on third party websites.

Social Media Cookies

Type: Persistent Cookies

Administered by: Third-Parties

Purpose: In addition to Our own Cookies, We may also use various third party plug-ins from social media networking websites such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or Google+ to report usage statistics of the Website and to provide social media features. These third party plug-ins may store Cookies. We do not control these Social Media Cookies. Please refer to the relevant social media networking’s website privacy policies for information about their cookies.

Your Choices Regarding Cookies

If You prefer to avoid the use of Cookies on the Website, first You must disable the use of Cookies in your browser and then delete the Cookies saved in your browser associated with this website. You may use this option for preventing the use of Cookies at any time.

If You do not accept Our Cookies, You may experience some inconvenience in your use of the Website and some features may not function properly.

If You’d like to delete Cookies or instruct your web browser to delete or refuse Cookies, please visit the help pages of your web browser.

For the Chrome web browser, please visit this page from Google: https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/32050

For the Internet Explorer web browser, please visit this page from Microsoft: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/278835

For the Firefox web browser, please visit this page from Mozilla: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/delete-cookies-remove-info-websites-stored

For the Safari web browser, please visit this page from Apple: https://support.apple.com/guide/safari/manage-cookies-and-website-data-sfri11471/mac

For any other web browser, please visit your web browser’s official web pages.

More Information about Cookies

You can learn more about cookies here: All About Cookies by TermsFeed.

Contact Us

If you have any questions about this Cookies Policy, You can contact us:

Washington Blade and Los Angeles Blade: Ethics, Accuracy and Corrections Policy

Our Commitment to Ethical Journalism

The Washington Blade and Los Angeles Blade are committed to providing accurate, fair, independent, and transparent journalism that serves the public interest. We recognize that public trust is essential to our mission and that maintaining that trust requires rigorous reporting practices, accountability, and a willingness to acknowledge and correct mistakes.

Our journalists and editors are expected to uphold the highest standards of professional journalism. We seek to report the truth as accurately as possible, provide appropriate context, distinguish news reporting from opinion and advertising, and promptly correct significant errors when they occur.

1. Accuracy and Transparency in Reporting

Verification of Information

The Washington Blade and Los Angeles Blade take reasonable steps to verify information before publication. Depending on the nature of the story, this may include:

  • Confirming facts through multiple independent sources whenever practical.
  • Identifying and consulting authoritative records, documents, public filings, and other primary sources.
  • Confirming names, titles, dates, locations, quotations, statistics, and other significant factual information.
  • Clearly identifying information that cannot be independently verified.
  • Giving individuals or organizations a reasonable opportunity to respond to significant allegations concerning them before publication, when circumstances permit.
  • Taking particular care with anonymous sources and using them only when there is a compelling journalistic reason to protect their identity.

Editors are responsible for reviewing stories for accuracy, fairness, clarity, and appropriate sourcing before publication when circumstances and resources permit.

Sources and Attribution

We strive to identify the sources of information used in our reporting. When information comes from documents, public records, other news organizations, interviews, or other sources, we seek to make that origin clear to readers.

Anonymous sources may be used when the information is important to the public and cannot reasonably be obtained on the record, and when protecting the source’s identity is justified. Editors should be aware of and approve the use of anonymous sources whenever practical.

We do not knowingly publish fabricated quotations, facts, sources, photographs, or other journalistic material.

Transparency

When appropriate, we will provide readers with relevant information about how a story was reported, including links to source documents, public records, previous coverage, or other supporting material.

We distinguish clearly between news, opinion, analysis, advertising, sponsored content, and other forms of communication. Advertising or sponsorship does not determine the editorial content of our news coverage.

When we have a potential conflict of interest, we seek to disclose it or otherwise take appropriate steps to ensure that it does not compromise our journalism.

Artificial Intelligence and Other Tools

Any use of artificial intelligence, automated systems, or other technological tools in the production of journalism must be consistent with our standards for accuracy, attribution, transparency, and editorial accountability.

AI-generated information is not considered a substitute for independent reporting and verification. Journalists remain responsible for the accuracy of material they publish, regardless of the tools used to produce or research it.

2. Corrections Policy

Despite our best efforts, errors can occur. We believe that correcting errors promptly and transparently is an essential part of responsible journalism.

What We Correct

We will correct factual errors that could materially mislead readers or that otherwise warrant correction under accepted journalistic standards. This includes, but is not limited to, incorrect names, dates, locations, statistics, quotations, descriptions, or other factual information.

We distinguish between factual errors and legitimate differences in judgment, interpretation, or opinion. Corrections are generally not appropriate merely because a reader or subject disagrees with the conclusions or characterization contained in a story.

How Errors Are Reported

Readers, sources, and members of the public are encouraged to bring potential errors to our attention. Correction requests should identify the specific error and, when possible, provide documentation or other evidence supporting the requested correction.

All credible correction requests will be reviewed by an editor or other designated member of the editorial staff. The organization will determine whether a correction is warranted based on the available evidence.

How Corrections Are Made

When a correction is warranted:

  • The online version of the story will be corrected as soon as reasonably possible.
  • A correction notice will be added when the error is significant enough to warrant reader notification.
  • The correction will clearly identify what was incorrect and provide the accurate information.
  • Significant corrections will not be hidden or quietly altered in a manner that prevents readers from understanding that an error occurred.
  • When appropriate, corrections will also be made to subsequent versions, social media posts, newsletters, or other digital platforms controlled by [Newspaper Name].
  • For print editions, corrections will be published in a subsequent edition when appropriate and consistent with the significance of the error.

Minor typographical or grammatical errors that do not materially affect the meaning of a story may be corrected without a formal correction notice.

Corrections to Headlines, Photographs and Captions

The same standards apply to headlines, subheads, photographs, captions, graphics, and other editorial elements. If these elements contain a significant factual error, [Newspaper Name] will correct them promptly and, when appropriate, acknowledge the correction.

Retractions and Major Errors

In rare circumstances, a story may contain errors so substantial that a correction is insufficient. When warranted, the Washington Blade and Los Angeles Blade may issue a clarification, editor’s note, or retraction explaining the nature and significance of the problem.

The decision to substantially revise, retract, or remove published material will be made by appropriate editorial leadership and will take into account the severity of the error, the public interest, and the need to preserve an accurate historical record.

We generally do not remove accurate, lawfully published journalism simply because a subject later objects to the coverage.

3. Accountability and Editorial Responsibility

Editors and publishers of the Washington Blade and Los Angeles Blade are responsible for maintaining these standards and responding appropriately when errors are identified.

We encourage a newsroom culture in which journalists can raise concerns about accuracy, sourcing, fairness, conflicts of interest, or other ethical issues without fear of retaliation.

Our commitment is not to claim that we never make mistakes. Rather, our commitment is to make every reasonable effort to prevent errors, to be honest with readers when errors occur, and to correct them promptly and transparently.

4. Public Access to This Policy

This policy is available to the public so that readers, sources, advertisers, community members, and other stakeholders understand the standards the Washington Blade and the Los Angeles Blade applies to its journalism.

Questions, concerns, and requests for corrections may be submitted to:

Editor: Kevin Naff

Email: [email protected]
Wewelcome feedback from readers and considers accountability to the public an essential part of responsible journalism.