The Commons is where conversation becomes community. It is a place for readers to discuss the books and reflections of L.R. Stahley, explore questions of faith, share personal insights, and encourage one another.

Our conversations grow from a Christian foundation and a commitment to treating every person with dignity. You do not need to be a Christian, share the author’s views, or have settled answers to participate. Honest questions, thoughtful criticism, and respectful disagreement are welcome.

These guidelines apply to posts, comments, reviews, public profiles, and other community contributions on LRStahley.com. They form part of the website’s Terms of Use.

1. Participate with Kindness and Respect

Speak to others as people deserving of patience and consideration. Discuss ideas and beliefs without attacking the character, intelligence, or worth of the person expressing them.

Harassment, bullying, threats, targeted humiliation, and repeated unwanted attention are not permitted. Neither are slurs, dehumanising language, or attacks on people because of characteristics such as race, ethnicity, nationality, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability.

Respectful discussion of religious teachings and differing convictions is welcome. Those convictions must not be used to threaten, degrade, or encourage mistreatment of another person.

Before replying, consider whether your words help the conversation move towards understanding, even when agreement is unlikely.

2. Make Room for Questions and Disagreement

Faith, literature, and personal experience can raise difficult questions. Members may express doubt, describe disappointment, challenge an interpretation, or disagree with an author or another reader.

Do not shame someone for asking a sincere question, pressure them to disclose personal experiences, or suggest that illness, grief, or hardship proves a lack of faith. Avoid claiming divine authority to control another person’s decisions or demanding that someone accept your interpretation.

When discussing Scripture, distinguish the biblical text from your own interpretation. Identify the translation when quoting, where practical, and take care not to present invented or altered wording as an exact quotation.

Criticism of books, reflections, and the website is welcome when it addresses the work or experience honestly and respectfully. A negative opinion alone is not a violation of these guidelines.

3. Understand What Is Public

The Commons is a public space. Posts, comments, reviews, and public profile details—including your display name, avatar, and biography—may be visible to signed-out visitors and search engines.

An account is required to post, but an account is not required to read public contributions. Other people may copy, screenshot, quote, or share what you publish.

Please share only information you are comfortable making public. Consider using a display name that does not reveal your full identity if privacy is important to you.

The Commons is not a confidential counselling setting, private prayer group, or privileged pastoral relationship. Information about how the website handles personal data appears in the Privacy Policy.

4. Protect Your Privacy and the Privacy of Others

Do not publish passwords, financial details, identification numbers, private contact information, home addresses, or other sensitive information that could expose someone to harm.

When discussing another person, obtain permission before sharing identifying personal details. This is especially important for prayer requests involving health, relationships, finances, children, or other private circumstances. You can ask for prayer without naming the person or describing their situation in detail.

Do not post private correspondence, photographs, or identifying information about another person without permission or another lawful basis. Do not use community information to investigate, expose, pursue, or contact someone against their wishes.

Avoid identifying children through details such as their school, location, routine, or medical circumstances.

5. Share Personal Experiences Responsibly

Personal stories can offer encouragement and help others feel less alone. Share your experience without presenting it as a guaranteed outcome or a substitute for professional care.

Do not encourage someone to stop prescribed treatment, avoid necessary medical attention, or replace qualified care with a product, practice, or spiritual claim. Do not diagnose other members or pressure them to follow medical, legal, or financial instructions.

Discussion of grief, depression, abuse, and other painful experiences is welcome when handled sensitively. Content that encourages suicide, self-harm, eating disorders, or violence—or provides instructions for carrying them out—is not permitted. Avoid graphic descriptions that are unnecessary to the conversation.

The Commons is not an emergency service and is not continuously monitored. If you or someone else is in immediate danger, contact local emergency services. In the United States, call or text 988 for suicide and crisis support.

6. Keep Content Suitable for a General Audience

Do not post pornography, sexually explicit material, graphic violence, or content intended to shock or distress readers.

Sensitive subjects may be discussed thoughtfully when relevant to a book, reflection, or personal experience. Use restrained language and include a brief content note when a discussion addresses potentially distressing subjects such as abuse, suicide, or violence.

Avoid excessive profanity, obscene insults, and images or descriptions that would make the community unsuitable for a general audience.

7. Keep Contributions Relevant and Free of Spam

Posts should have a meaningful connection to the books, reflections, faith, reading, or the shared life of this community.

Unsolicited advertising, repetitive promotional posts, referral schemes, suspicious links, fundraising solicitations, and unrelated self-promotion are not permitted. Obtain permission before promoting a business, ministry, product, event, or fundraising campaign.

Relevant resources may be shared when they contribute to the discussion. If you have a financial or personal connection to something you recommend, disclose it clearly.

Do not flood discussions with duplicate comments, repeatedly redirect conversations to your own interests, or use automated accounts or bulk-generated contributions to overwhelm other members.

8. Discuss Public Issues Thoughtfully

Books and reflections may touch on history, public affairs, and moral questions. Discussion of those subjects is welcome when it remains relevant and respectful.

Do not turn unrelated conversations into political arguments, campaign promotions, or attacks on groups of people. Avoid inflammatory slogans, unsupported accusations, and attempts to provoke conflict.

Distinguish facts from opinions, check significant factual claims before sharing them, and provide a reliable source when practical. If you discover that something you posted is inaccurate, correct it.

9. Be Honest About Who You Are

You may use a pen name or display name, but you may not impersonate another person, falsely claim professional credentials, or suggest that you speak for L.R. Stahley or the website without authorisation.

Do not create accounts to evade restrictions, fabricate support, manipulate reviews or reactions, or mislead readers about the source of a contribution.

Reviews should reflect your own honest experience. Do not submit fabricated reviews or conceal compensation or another material connection that could influence your recommendation.

AI assistance does not remove your responsibility for what you publish. Check any AI-assisted contribution for accuracy, originality, and compliance with these guidelines. Do not present invented experiences, quotations, or credentials as genuine.

10. Respect Copyright and Creative Work

Post material you created, have permission to share, or may lawfully use under an applicable exception.

Do not upload entire books, substantial unauthorised excerpts, paid study materials, or other protected work without permission. When quoting, identify the author and source where practical. Giving credit does not, by itself, replace permission when permission is required.

You retain ownership of your original contributions. By posting, you grant the website the limited permission described in the Terms of Use to host, store, format, display, and moderate your content as needed to operate the community.

Further information appears in Copyright & Permissions.

11. Report Concerns

Posts and comments include a Report link. Use it to flag content you believe violates these guidelines. You may also email contact@lrstahley.com, particularly if a reporting option is unavailable.

Please identify the relevant contribution and briefly explain the concern. Include a page link where possible. Do not repost harmful material publicly merely to draw attention to it.

Report disagreements only when they involve a potential rule violation. Repeated malicious reports, coordinated reporting intended to silence someone, and retaliation against a person who raises a concern are not permitted.

Reports are reviewed by the site owner. Review may take time; reporting does not guarantee immediate removal or a particular outcome.

12. Moderation and Enforcement

We may review contributions and take action when we reasonably believe content or conduct violates these guidelines, the Terms of Use, or applicable law, or presents a risk to the community.

Depending on the circumstances, action may include:

• Asking a member to revise or remove a contribution.
• Issuing a reminder or warning.
• Hiding or removing content.
• Restricting participation.
• Suspending or terminating an account.

Serious or repeated violations may result in immediate removal or suspension without a prior warning. Attempts to evade restrictions through another account may lead to further action.

Moderation decisions consider context, severity, and patterns of behaviour. We do not guarantee that every contribution will be reviewed before publication or that every violation will be detected.

The presence of a contribution does not mean the website or its owner endorses it. We may preserve relevant records where reasonably necessary to investigate abuse, meet legal obligations, or resolve a dispute, as described in the Privacy Policy.

13. Questions About a Moderation Decision

If you believe a moderation decision was made in error, email contact@lrstahley.com with the relevant account information, a description of the decision, and any context you would like considered.

Respectful requests for reconsideration are welcome. Reconsideration does not guarantee that a decision will change. We may limit repeated or abusive correspondence and may be unable to disclose information that would compromise another person’s privacy or website security.

14. Deleting Your Contributions

You can delete your own posts and comments through the available account controls. Account deletion removes your posts, comments, reviews, and reactions from the active website, subject to the retention details and limitations explained in the Privacy Policy.

Deletion cannot remove screenshots, quotations, search-engine copies, or material independently saved or shared by others. Residual copies may also remain temporarily in backups or where retention is legally necessary.

If you need help removing a contribution or addressing exposed personal information, contact contact@lrstahley.com.

15. Age Requirements

You must be at least 13 years old to create an account or contribute to The Commons. If you are under the age of legal majority where you live, participation requires the permission and supervision of a parent or legal guardian, as described in the Terms of Use.

The community is not directed to children under 13. If you believe a child under 13 has created an account or submitted personal information, please contact us.

16. Changes to These Guidelines

We may update these guidelines as the community develops. The effective date above identifies the latest revision. Material changes will receive additional notice where appropriate or required by law.

17. Contact

For community questions, reports, or moderation enquiries:

Lee Ruckman Stahley — L.R. Stahley

Owner and operator of LRStahley.com

Email: contact@lrstahley.com