A Light for Charlie
Community Guidelines
This is a place of remembrance, and the standard is simple: write what you would be willing to say aloud in a room with the people who loved him. A message may be up to 280 characters. Most of the ones that move people are far shorter.
What belongs here
- Remembrance: a memory, something he said that stayed with you, what the past year has meant where you live.
- Condolence: a few words to his family, his friends and the people who worked beside him.
- Reflection: a prayer, a line of scripture or poetry, a hope for a calmer public life.
- Silence. A candle with no message at all is complete on its own, and it counts the same as every other.
What is removed
A message containing any of the following is not published. The candle stays lit either way.
- Links and web addresses of any kind.
- Advertising, promotion, fundraising or any request for money.
- Phone numbers, email addresses and other contact details, whether yours or someone else's.
- Threats, or anything that reads as a threat, against any person or group.
- Celebration, justification or encouragement of violence, including the violence that led to this memorial.
- Graphic description of the killing, or of any injury or death.
- Hatred aimed at people for their race, religion, nationality, ethnicity, sex, sexuality, gender identity or disability.
- Impersonation: writing as Charlie Kirk, as a member of his family, or on behalf of any organisation.
- Campaigning. This memorial is not a platform for any party, candidate, election or cause.
- Personal details about anyone who has not chosen to be here, including full names, addresses and photographs described in text.
- Spam, repetition and automated submissions.
How review works
Every message is read by a person before it appears in public. Lighting a candle is never delayed by that review. Your candle joins the field of light and the totals the moment you light it, and it keeps the number it was given. Only the words wait.
Most messages are approved. A small number are declined automatically, without a person seeing them, because they contain terms that could never be published on a memorial. Nothing is edited or rewritten: a message is published as you wrote it, or it is not published at all.
Review is done by volunteers, in their own time. Please allow for that, especially in the hours around the remembrance itself.
Reporting a message
If you find something here that should not be, tell us through the contact page and include the link to the candle if you can. Reports go to the same people who review messages, and a message reported in good faith is looked at again from the beginning.
Your own candle
If you want your message changed or your candle taken down, ask through the contact page. No reason is needed. How this site handles what you type is set out in the privacy notice.
A note on names
A first name is enough, and initials are welcome. Please do not enter anyone else's full name, and please do not enter a child's name. A candle signed by no one is still a candle.