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Editor: Bijal Trivedi

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Privacy & Comments

Comment Policy
Your Privacy
Linking Policy and Disclaimer of Endorsement

Comment Policy

NIH reserves the right to modify this policy at any time.

This is a moderated blog, and all comments will be reviewed before they are posted to ensure compliance with our comment policy. Therefore, comments may not show up immediately. Be advised that NIH does not plan to respond to individual comments or questions on a routine basis.

Our comment policy is designed to encourage respectful, constructive dialogue.

  • Be respectful. Comments will not be posted if they contain personal attacks, which include discriminatory, racist, offensive, obscene, inflammatory, unlawful or otherwise objectionable statements, language or content. Comments that contain partisan political views will not be posted.
  • Stay focused. All viewpoints are welcome, but comments should remain relevant to The Director’s Blog and the topic being discussed. Only comments that relate to the topic being discussed will be posted.
  • Tell the truth. Comments that contain or spread misleading or false information will not be posted. If you make an error, be up front about your mistake and correct it quickly, as this can help restore trust. When you see misrepresentations made by media, analysts or by other bloggers, you may certainly use this blog to point that out. Always do so with respect, stick to the facts and identify your appropriate affiliation.  Here and in other areas of public discussion, make sure that what you are saying is factually correct.
  • Be relevant. Repeated posting of identical or very similar content in a counter-productive manner (i.e. spam) is prohibited. Form letters will not be posted to this site. All form letters should be directed to: NIH-Listens@mail.nih.gov.
  • Refrain from seeking medical advice. Comments that seek a specific diagnosis or request medical advice will not be posted. Please visit http://health.nih.gov/ for information on health research at NIH.
  • Refrain from  commenting on certain books.  Comments related to books written by Dr. Collins before he became the NIH Director will not be posted.
  • Refrain from endorsing a commercial product. Comments that promote a particular service, or product, and solicitation of any proposal or business will not be posted.

We retain the discretion to determine which comments violate our comment policy. We also reserve the right to remove and/or not post comments. The views expressed within posted comments do not necessarily reflect those of the National Institutes of Health, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, or the federal government.

We recognize that the Web is a 24/7 medium, and your comments are welcome at any time. However, given the need to manage federal resources, i.e., your tax dollars, moderating and posting comments should only be expected to occur during regular business hours. Comments submitted after hours or on weekends will be read and posted as early as possible; in most cases, this means the next business day.

Reporters are asked to send questions to the NIH media office through their normal channels and to refrain from submitting questions here as comments. Reporter questions will not be posted or answered.

Thank you for taking the time to review our comment policy. We encourage your participation in our discussion and look forward to hearing from you.

Your Privacy

NIH.gov uses the WordPress blog platform to support The Director’s Blog.  The Director’s Blog enables visitors to respond to information posted by National Institutes of Health (NIH) leaders by posting comments. Site visitors can only access The Director’s Blog from the NIH.gov home page. Visitors who post comments do not need to register, provide their names or supply any other personal information. The blog comments are not collected, processed or reported in any way. When visitors provide their names or other identifying information, that information will appear along with their comments.

Although WordPress offers some analytics and usage data to NIH, these reports do not include any personally identifiable information. The reports are password protected and only available to NIH.gov managers, members of the NIH.gov Communications and Web Teams and other designated staff requiring this information to perform their duties. The WordPress privacy policy is available at: http://wordpress.org/about/privacy/

Linking Policy and Disclaimer of Endorsement

This material may include useful hypertext links or pointers to information created and maintained by other public and private organizations and persons. We provide these links and pointers solely for our users’ information and convenience. These references are not intended to reflect the opinion of HHS, the United States Government, or its officers or employees concerning the significance, priority or importance to be given the referenced entity, product, service or organization. Such references are not an official or personal endorsement of any product, person, or service, and may not be quoted or reproduced for the purpose of stating or implying HHS endorsement or approval of any product, person, or service.

When you select a link to an outside website, you are leaving the HHS domain and are subject to the privacy and security policies of the owners/sponsors of the outside website.

HHS does not control nor guarantee the accuracy, relevance, timeliness or completeness of information contained on an externally linked website.

HHS and this blog do not endorse the organizations sponsoring linked websites, and we do not endorse the views they express or the products/services they offer.

HHS cannot authorize the use of copyrighted materials contained in linked websites. Users must request such authorization from the sponsor of the linked website. Those who provide comments are responsible for the copyright of the text they provide.

HHS is not responsible for transmissions users receive from linked websites.

HHS does not guarantee that outside websites comply with Section 508 (Accessibility Requirements) of the Rehabilitation Act.

For more information on HHS disclaimers, visit the HHS Web Site Disclaimers page.