Something I hear over and over again with regard to this blog is that readers are impressed with the tone maintained in the Comments sections, especially given the often wildly different opinions expressed. I take this as a compliment, and am incredibly proud of this accomplishment. Sometimes, though, there are individuals who go out of their way to try to upset the balance, and frankly, I refuse to tolerate it. And, just to make sure that we’re all on the same page here, I’ve decided to establish a few rules.

  1. Play nice! Being rude means that your comment won’t pass moderation. Depending on my mood, if I find you really offensive, I will ban your IP.
  2. Show respect! You don’t have to agree with everything that’s written, but if you want to contribute, you must show respect towards other commenters and towards me.
  3. Keep it civil! I’m not a big fan of online screaming matches, and will not allow them here.
  4. Don’t get personal! Don’t attack or berate another commenter if you don’t like their opinion – attack (civilly and with respect, of course) the opinion instead. Dialog over ideas is much better then slinging mud at your fellow commenters (and certainly much easier to clean up…).
  5. No articles! If you try to post an entire article in the Comments section, I’ll remove it.
  6. Minimize links! The posting of links will be allowed only at my discretion. If you try to post links without providing any explanation or commentary, chances are excellent that your comment will be deleted. Comments containing multiple links are also not likely to pass moderation. The comments section is for dialog and an exchange of ideas, not a bulletin board for links.
  7. Stay on-topic! If your comment is unrelated to either the post topic or the comment thread, I will delete it.
  8. Beware of Godwin’s Law! Unless I’ve written a post about the Holocaust, comments containing Nazi analogies or references will be deleted immediately.