Please Read This

There are a few housekeeping items we want to be sure and share with you regarding all of our blog offerings (ANIMALS, Ask Shamu, Julie’s Journal, and Schooling). Please take a moment and read the following items of interest.

First, if you are under 13, please do not participate in the posting of comments/questions for those blogs that allow such exchange. It’s not that we discourage readership from viewer’s 12 and under, but rather, that we are serious about protecting the privacy of children online. As such, we do not want personal information from participants under the age of 13. If you happen to be 12 or under and have something you really want to add to the conversation, please solicit an adult (parent, guardian, teacher, etc.) to include your view under their posting. Take a look at the SeaWorld/Busch Gardens ANIMALS privacy policy for an extended picture of how we manage your personal information within our family of websites.

Second, please keep in mind that your WordPress username will be associated with any and all commentary you submit. Accordingly, we would encourage you to choose your username wisely.

Third, we are encouraging a conversation through our blogs; however, we hope and expect that conversation to strike a tone suitable for the entirety of our audience. In other words, we want to engage in a civil, intelligent, progressive discourse that invites participation and promotes acceptance of individual viewpoints. We are looking to create a healthy, safe environment in which focused, meaningful discussion is the norm. Think of some of the most interesting conversations you’ve had. Whether they took place around a dinner table, a campfire, a water cooler, or a pool, they probably all occurred in a vibrant atmosphere with informed participants and the promise of growth through understanding underlying the entire process. Those cherished conversations may have started one place and ended in another place all together, but you could probably go back and connect the dots as the dialogue moved from point to point. Most significantly, the really great conversations allow different voices to arise without the need for one voice to drown out or scare away all others. We want to have really great conversations. We trust that you do as well.

We’ll see you in the blogs!