We want our comment section to be a place where our community can discuss the news openly and honestly. These guidelines keep it useful and respectful for everyone. By posting a comment, you agree to follow them, along with our Website Terms of Use.

The Caymanian Journal. is regulated by the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO) and reports in line with the Editors’ Code of Practice. The standards in these guidelines reflect that Code.

The short version

Debate ideas, not people. Be honest. Keep it clean. And remember this is a small community — real people read what you write, and so do their families.

What we encourage

• First-hand knowledge and local perspective
• Informed opinion and well-argued disagreement
• Corrections and additional facts that move the conversation forward
• Staying on topic

What’s not allowed

• Personal attacks, harassment, threats, or bullying
• Defamation — false statements of fact that damage someone’s reputation
• Hate speech, or attacks on people based on nationality, race, religion, sex, gender, sexual orientation, disability, age or other protected characteristics
• Profanity, obscene, or sexually explicit content
• Unlawful content, or content that encourages illegal activity or self-harm, suicide or abuse
• Impersonating others or misrepresenting who you are
• Spam, advertising, scams, or repetitive posting
• Sharing private information about others (addresses, phone numbers, workplaces, or any other identifying information)
• False, misleading, distorted, or unsubstantiated claims presented as fact
• Identifying victims, children, vulnerable people or others legally protected from being named
• Breaching court orders, reporting restrictions, confidentiality, or intellectual property rights
• Insensitive, mocking, or cruel comments about someone’s death, serious illness, injury, trauma, or personal tragedy

A note on our community

Cayman is a small place. People are easily recognised even when they aren’t named, and words can cause real harm to real neighbours. We ask everyone to comment as though the person being discussed — and their family — is reading.

You’re welcome to comment anonymously. That’s a long-standing part of how Cayman discusses the news, and we respect it. However, anonymity is not a shield for abuse.

Sensitive topics

Some stories need extra care:

• Crime & court: Do not name suspects, victims, witnesses, or minors, and do not post anything that could prejudice ongoing legal proceedings (such as speculation about guilt, witnesses, jurors, evidence or sentencing). Comments on active legal matters are moderated closely.
• Immigration, status & jobs: Debate the policy, not people’s nationality. Comments attacking individuals or groups by nationality will be removed.
• Religion & social issues: Strong views are welcome. Contempt for the people who hold different ones is not.

On some stories — including ongoing court cases, deaths, and stories involving children — we may limit comments or turn them off entirely at our discretion. This is to protect the people involved, and it isn’t a comment on the importance of the story or the views of The Caymanian Journal.

How moderation works

We moderate at our sole discretion. We may remove, edit or close comments, and restrict or block accounts, with or without notice. We can’t read every comment before it appears, so some may be removed after posting. A removed comment isn’t a judgement on you as a person — it just didn’t fit these guidelines.

Reporting

If you see a comment that breaks these guidelines, use the report option on the comment and our team will review it. We monitor reports and act on them as quickly as we can.

If you believe a comment breaches the Editors’ Code of Practice and we haven’t resolved it, you can raise it with IPSO at ipso.co.uk.

Comments reflect the views of their authors, not The Caymanian Journal.