Part of what makes the internet so powerful is that ideas can be easily exchanged. However, there are times when the exchange can become negative. People sometimes post comments that are intended to hurt another person. Sunfull works to counter these hurtful comments by posting positive comments to websites across the internet.

Sunfull members commit to post positive and constructive messages, but more importantly, Sunfull members actively seek opportunities to post positive messages.

Sunfull members actively check internet sites where malicious comments may be posted or where cyberbullying occurs. Sunfull members review the situation, and if appropriate, based on the member’s age and writing ability, and based on the situation, they post a positive and meaningful comment.

Posting positive comments counters bullying in three key ways:

1. Receiving a positive comment provides encouragement to someone who is the target of hateful comments. Knowing that not everyone is against them may help them to overcome the difficulties that they are facing.
2. People who visit a site where positive and constructive comments have been posted, including people who tend to post malicious comments, may read the comment, and a thoughtful positive comment may influence the posters of malicious comments to rethink their posting habits.
3. The poster of the comment experiences doing something positive for another person. Too often, people, and especially students, have either forgotten or never understood what it is like to do something good for someone that they do not know.

Posting positive comments is a way to provide character education to students. They gain an understanding of the hurtful impact of malicious comments from searching out situations where someone is being attacked on the internet. Through this understanding of what malicious comments can do, many students stop engaging in the posting of malicious comments on the internet, as well as reduce their use of aggressive language (profanity) with their peers. Participation in the Sunfull positive comment movement improves many students’ interactions with their peers, as well as their families.

Our members post positive messages on other websites and then copy those comments to our website. If our members only posted positive comments on our site, people who are being bullied on a different site would never see the positive comments that are posted to help them.

Sunfull members have posted over 7.5 million positive comments as of April 12, 2019.

Because Sunfull members actively look for opportunities to post positive messages, Sunfull generates large numbers of positive messages that can change the tenor of discussions on the internet. When sites that normally experience large numbers of malicious comments start to see more and more positive messages, the tone of the site begins to change. Other posters to the site recognize this change and start to change their attitude.

To track how many comments Sunfull members are posting, our members post a copy of their comment, along with the URL for the site where they posted their comment in our database.

1. In 2009, the first year that we tracked comments, our members posted 14,586 comments.
2. In 2010, our members posted 1,065,414 comments.
3. In 2011, our members posted 1,290,364 comments.
4. Last year, our members posted 1,273,378 comments.

It is Sunfull’s volume of comments that really helps to make a difference.

Sunfull comments are well thought-out, meaningful comments, and not just trite platitudes. Our members show an understanding of the situation in their comments, within the abilities of the particular Sunfull member.

Posting simple comments, such as “You’re not alone” and “We support you,” does offer support and encouragement, but Sunfull members are urged to do more. A Sunfull comment specifies why the person is not alone and why the person is being supported.

Our purpose is to promote the posting of positive comments on the internet. At the same time, we believe that everyone has the right to express his or her opinion. We do not support restricting or blocking anyone’s speech. We believe that everyone has the inherent right to express his or her opinion, but we encourage the posting of constructive comments on the internet, avoiding language intended to hurt others, and avoiding malicious personal attacks.

Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on December 1948, states that “Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.” (emphasis added).

We believe that everyone has the inherent right to express his or her opinion, but we encourage the posting of constructive comments on the internet, avoiding language intended to hurt others, and avoiding malicious personal attacks.