Corrections, Comments, and AI Policies
CORRECTIONS POLICY
The Petaluma Voice strives for accuracy, but errors can happen. When we learn of mistakes, we strive to correct them promptly.
Changes to published stories fall into three categories:
- Corrections = incorrect information
- Clarifications = misunderstood but technically correct
- Updates = new information
Minor grammatical errors do not require a note. Significant factual errors receive a time-stamped correction note at the bottom of the story explaining what was wrong and what has been corrected. If you identify an error, please email news@petalumavoice.org.
We also abide by the ethics code of the Society of Professional Journalists.
COMMENTS POLICY
Social commentary is integral to news.
Petaluma Voice encourages robust, curious, and respectful dialogue on the topics we cover. The perspectives, criticisms, and insider knowledge that commenters share deepen the conversation and could provoke further reporting.
Comments should be a tool to stimulate intellectual and community curiosity.
We ask commenters to abide by some guidelines:
Be respectful. If you don’t have anything nice to say, take a deep breath and think twice before responding. If a screen wasn’t in front of you, would you say that comment out loud to someone you respect? Within earshot of a child?
Keep it relevant to the reporting. Debate the topic, not the people. Stay on topic and treat reporters, the reporting, and other commenters with civility in your debates and discussions.
Agree to disagree. You don’t need to take things further than they need to go. Don’t lose a friend or a relationship with someone because you were caught up in the moment. We share many different perspectives and that is part of our community’s beauty!
Be concise. This is a shared space so treat it as such.
Consider the living-room rule. Behave as if you’re an invited guest at a lively salon in our living room.
Petaluma Voice reserves the right to delete comments that include:
- Libelous or defamatory statements
- Personal attacks against the reporters or subjects of a story
- Offensive language intended to provoke or attack a specific group or individual
- Trolling, name-calling, harassment, or threats
- Abusive, obscene, vulgar, racist, discriminatory, or hate-filled language
- Impersonations of other individuals or deliberate misrepresentations of information
- Promotions of any service or business (spam)
- Off-topic digressions
These parameters are meant not to censor, but to maintain an environment of intellectual and community curiosity.
Commenters who break any of the above rules after two warnings will forfeit their commenting privilege. They will not be refunded.
Your words are your views. The commenter is solely responsible for the views, content, and opinions they express. They do not imply Petaluma Voice’s agreement with or acceptance of those statements.
AI POLICY
Humans first, humans last, human-powered: every story is reported, written, and edited by our journalists – real people who live here, too. We sometimes use AI tools to assist with tasks like transcription, translation, research, and compiling community events. Unless noted, photography is taken and edited by a human. If you have any questions about our practices, please contact us at news@petalumavoice.org.