In order to promote an open and transparent conversation, Hayes, Inc. moderates the posting of content on the site.

The responsibility of each of our staff moderators is to publish appropriate comments and delete inappropriate comments. We also invite our community members to flag inappropriate comments. Our staff moderators pay close attention to our community’s flags.

Moderation, by its very nature, is subjective. The lines can be blurry. But our staff moderators and community moderators are guided by a series of basic guidelines. These guidelines include compliance with U.S. law, including copyright law, and regulations pertaining to intellectual property.

In general, the best way to determine whether a comment is appropriate is simple. Ask first whether it’s inappropriate. Ask whether it violates any of the guidelines outlined here. If it does, then it should be flagged or deleted. If it doesn’t, the comment should be published or left alone

Hayes does not endorse or take responsibility for content posted by third parties, referred to as user generated content (UGC). This includes text input and uploaded files (including video, images, audio, executables and documents).

While we strongly encourage user participation, there are some guidelines we ask you to follow to keep it safe for everyone. In addition, Hayes has put in place automated controls to combat spam and malicious content.

Pre-moderation. Even when a site requires the user to register before posting, simple user name and email entry doesn’t really validate the person. So to ensure least risk/most security, we require moderation of all UGC posts before they are published (pre-moderation).

Community moderation. For established, healthy communities, group moderation by regular users can work well. This will sometimes be allowed to take the place of pre-moderation—it must be applied for and approved.

Balanced online dialogue. Whether content is pre-moderated or community moderated, follow these three principles: the Good, the Bad, but not the Ugly. If the content is positive or negative and in context to the conversation, then we approve the content, regardless of whether it’s favorable or unfavorable to Hayes. But if the content is ugly, offensive, denigrating and completely out of context, then we reject the content.