Comment rules.

Comments under journal posts are written by readers of this site. Here is who can write, how comments are checked and what we do not publish.

Who can comment.

• Only a registered customer who is signed in to their account. No purchase is required.
• A comment is signed with your display name — you choose it with your first comment or in your profile, and the same name signs your product reviews. We never show your real name or email address.
• The name is checked together with the text: a published comment shows the name you had when it was checked.

Moderation.

Every comment and every reply is read by a member of our team before it is published — nothing is published automatically.

While a comment is being checked, only you can see it — in the “Your comments awaiting moderation” block under the post. If a comment is rejected, the reason is shown there and you can correct the text.

What we do not publish.

• contact details — phone numbers, email addresses, links, usernames and messengers;
• advertising of goods or services, including other seed banks and shops;
• profanity or insults — towards readers, authors or anyone else;
• personal data — your own or anyone else’s;
• anything that breaks the law: comments must comply with the laws of your country, and we do not publish content that encourages illegal activity.

Borderline cases are decided at the moderator’s discretion. We reject comments for breaking these rules, not for disagreeing with a post or with the store.

Editing and deleting.

• You can edit your comment within 7 days after sending it; a rejected one can be corrected at any time. An edited comment is checked again, and until a decision is made the previous version stays on the site. Once the edit is published, the comment is marked “edited”.
• You can delete your comment at any time. If it already has published replies, a “Comment deleted” note takes its place — without the text or the name — and other readers’ replies stay.
• A moderator may hide a published comment that breaks these rules.

Replies.

• You can reply to any published comment. Replies are grouped in a thread under the original comment; a reply to a reply shows who it is addressed to.
• The store replies under the name “UKHTA” with a “Store reply” mark, so it cannot be mistaken for a reader. The store never edits other people’s comments: it only publishes, rejects or hides them.
• If a comment was written by the author of the post, it carries a “Post author” mark next to the name.

The “Like” mark.

Only a signed-in customer can like a comment, once per comment; you cannot like your own. The “Top” order is based on these marks.

Ranks.

Every author of comments and reviews has an honorary rank, shown next to their name. It grows with “Like” marks on comments and “Helpful” marks on reviews.

• Lab Assistant — starting rank
• Researcher — from 5 marks
• PhD Candidate — from 20 marks
• Doctor of Science — from 60 marks
• Professor — from 150 marks
• Academician — from 400 marks

Which marks count:

• only marks on published comments and reviews. If a text is hidden by a moderator or deleted, its marks no longer count — a rank can go down;
• no more than 10 marks from one person to one author, however many they give;
• marks from customers with a paid order in their account in this store, and from anyone whose account is more than 7 days old and who has a published comment or review of their own.

A rank is honorary: it gives nothing but the label next to your name — no discounts, no bonuses.