HuffPost’s user registration procedure, policies and related matters

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CONTENTS:

(1) User registration procedure (and how HuffPost's differs from other major blogs)

(2) Comment policy & terms of service

(3) Banning policy

(4) Looking up user information

(1) User registration procedure (and how HuffPost's differs from other major blogs)

• To become a registered user at HuffPost, one goes to the "Sign Up" link, pick a screen name, password, and provide a zip code and an email address (whether real or not). In the vast majority of cases, users register and post comments under fictitious screen names.
  
  
• HuffPost instantly authorizes user accounts --- regardless of whether the user has been banned, and/or if the email address submitted is a fake (proof available upon request).
  
  This is very different from the user registration procedures at other popular political blogs. Unlike HuffPost, these sites do not allow anyone and everyone to register accounts (or multiple accounts), on-demand. Registration for new accounts at these sites is only open periodically, authorization codes are emailed to confirm activation, and in some cases (see LGF, below), new users are advised that they will be closely monitored until they demonstrate they will conform to the site's rules.
  
  In fact, Little Green Footballs ("LGF") even makes a point of publicly boasting about how many "trolls" and "sockpuppets" it was able to catch at registration, and prevent from obtaining new accounts. Examples here, here, here. Further, LGF doesn't allow users to register with "throwaway" email accounts (e.g. Hotmail, Yahoo, GMail).
  
  The impact of this approach is immediately apparent in the difference one can observe when comparing "news" threads at HuffPost, versus other major blogs. For example, although one may occasionally observe a clearly-violating comment at LGF, it is a rarity, and it --- along with the user who posted it --- are almost always rapidly removed.
  
  A fuller discussion of the difference between HuffPost and other blogs in this regard --- along with many examples of HuffPost "news" threads containing flagrant, often egregious violations of its (supposed) policies --- is located here.
  

(2) Comment policy & terms of service

• Upon registration, the user is advised to review HuffPost’s Comment Policy (1, 2) and Terms of Service ("CP-TOS"), before posting comments.
  
  
• HuffPost’s CP-TOS, and Ms. Huffington’s statements on acceptable user conduct, are
  documented in detail, here.
  
  
• When users observe others violating the CP-TOS, they may “flag” the users' offensive comments, which alerts HuffPost to review them. HuffPost also provides a link to email addresses of its various departments.
  

(3) Banning policy

• For users who are habitual violators of its CP-TOS, HuffPost advises that it may ban their accounts (see Section 2 here).
  
  
• If the user is a particularly egregious or repeat violator, HuffPost claims it has the ability to ban the user’s IP address, permanently blocking future access to the site. (see Section 2 here).
  
  
• As is discussed in Sections 2, 3 and 5 here, however, HuffPost applies significantly different standards to banning users, depending on which "caste" into which they are categorized, by the site itself, or by its resident "gang" of radical leftists.
  

(4) Looking up user information

• By clicking on a user's name, one can see (a) whatever personal information the user has chosen to put into his/her "bio," and (b) their comment archive.
  
  
• Users who’ve been banned by HuffPost have only markers on their profile pages stating, “This user’s profile has been removed.” Below is one example, the case of "Agent86" (aka "BlueStateMan"), a egregious, long-term violator of HuffPost's policies, whom it has banned multiple times, then fully reinstated shortly thereafter (see summary here, and detailed analysis here):
  
  "Agent 86," "banned" on October 24, 2009:
  
  
  

  "Agent 86," fully reinstated, on October 26, 2009:

  

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