Comments are moderated by members of The New York Times Community team, with the assistance of technology that helps us assess whether submissions meet our guidelines.

We moderate comment submissions to provide a space where our readers can exchange intelligent, thoughtful commentary that enhances their understanding of our news and information. While most comments will be posted if they meet our guidelines, moderation decisions are subjective. We moderate with the goal of providing a positive experience for not just the commenters, but also the far larger number of people who are simply reading the comments. 

The New York Times welcomes strong opinions and thoughtful criticism of our work, and we will generally approve critical comments as long as the criticism relates to the article in question and otherwise meets our guidelines. 

In short, keep it respectful. Stay on topic. Aim to add something new to the conversation, not simply repeat what’s already been said.

The following will not be permitted:

• Name-calling, hateful language, obscenity, vulgarity, cursing (including expletives and letters followed by dashes), promotion of self-harm, commercial promotion, impersonations, incoherence, and SHOUTING IN CAPITAL LETTERS.
• Spreading misinformation or conspiracy theories.
• Personal attacks, harassment, threats, or bullying against our staff, other commenters or the subjects of an article.
• Excessive comments on the moderation policies of The New York Times, including comments challenging us to approve the comment.
• Excessive commenting or spam.
• Fraud, impersonation or promotion of illegal or dangerous activities.
• Violations of intellectual property rights or disclosure of others’ private information.
• Sexual, abusive or suggestive content.

When and where will my comment be published?

Since comments are moderated, they do not appear on the site until they have been approved. Comments are typically posted faster during business hours, and less frequently in the evenings, early mornings, and on weekends.

The New York Times reserves the right to display comments in a variety of places, including in the text of articles, in email newsletters and in advertisements. 

A New York Times staff member may occasionally use the email address you have listed in your Account to request further information about a comment or ask for a follow-up interview. For more information, please see our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.

If you are a subscriber or registered user, you can request that the comments section be opened on an article. We value your input, but we might not be able to open all stories that have been requested.

On nytimes.com

Select Request to open comments at the bottom of an article or at the top of the article using the comment bubble with a ‘+’ sign:

In the app

Select the comment bubble with the ‘+’ sign on the bar of actions on the bottom of the screen.

After you request to open comments, you will see a confirmation message. You can make this request only once per article. If comments are opened, you will be notified via email.

To read comments on nytimes.com, select the comment icon located in the navigation bar underneath the article title and summary: 

To read comments on the New York Times app, select the comment icon located in the navigation bar at the bottom of the screen:

Note: If you do not see a comments icon, this means there is no comments section for that article. However, when available, you can make a Request to open comments at the bottom of an article. 

To recommend, or upvote, comments you like or agree with, select the Recommend button underneath the comment. 

NYT Picks 

NYT Picks are a selection of comments chosen by moderators to highlight the breadth, depth and diversity of the conversation in the comments. They may include interesting personal anecdotes, thoughtful insights, great questions or relevant expertise. 

From NYT 

“From NYT” are comments made by our journalists. They may be replies to readers, questions for discussion or additional information or context that would help readers better understand the issues raised in the article. 
All “From NYT” posts are identified with the Times logo next to the name. You will also see a blue dot in the comments bubble next to the journalist’s photo if they have joined the conversation in the comments.

Reader Picks 

Reader Picks are a selection of comments with the highest number of recommendations, or upvotes, by other readers.

You must be a registered user or subscriber to submit a comment.

Our decisions to approve comments or remove flagged comments are based on whether the comments comply with our community community guidelines.

For more information on how The New York Times moderates comments, refer to the How We Moderate section at the top of this article.

Setting a Username and Location

The first time you write a comment, you will be asked to provide the following information:

• A display name
• A location

Both of these items will be displayed publicly on nytimes.com. You can change your username or location on future comments if you wish. To do that, select the Edit button to the right of the comment submission box (for web users) or at the very top of the comment (for those on our mobile apps) and type the new username and location. 

Post a Comment

To leave a comment on an article in the NYTimes app, select the pen and paper icon at the top right or bottom right corner of the comments section:

To leave a comment on nytimes.com, select the comment icon located in the navigation bar underneath the article title and summary. Then click into the “Share your thoughts.” textbox to start writing a comment:

After you type your comment, please read it over and make sure it says what you intended it to say. You cannot edit or delete your comment after you submit it. If you would like to receive a notification when your comment is published, select the email notification checkbox beneath the comment box on the submission form:

Returning Commenters

If you have posted comments on articles before, keep in mind that you will need to be logged in to a New York Times Account each time you post a comment, as comments are linked to your registered account.

If you read a comment that you feel does not meet the community guidelines of The New York Times, you can flag it to our moderators. While flagged comments are not automatically removed from the site, they will be sent to the Community team for review.

To flag an inappropriate comment:

1. Select the Flag icon at the bottom right of a comment.
2. Select the reasons you believe it should be removed.
3. Submit the report.

Report an Error or Suggest Feedback 

We appreciate when readers and individuals quoted in our articles point out factual errors or emphasis in our journalism and, upon notice, will investigate all assertions. To ensure that your message gets to our editors quickly, please use the appropriate links to report a correction or share feedback.

While you can edit your display name and location, you cannot make edits to a comment once it’s been submitted. We recommend that you check for grammatical, spelling or accuracy errors in your comment before submitting.

Comments are not edited by The New York Times. However, we reserve the right to edit a comment that is quoted or excerpted by us on our website, apps, in newsletters or on other platforms.