New Comment Policy Here: Comments Have to Be Approved

Some of you may have noticed that this website's comment options have been switching around lately.

For a while it was wide-open comments here.  Only outright profanity or pure junk-comment spam was deleted.  In the last few weeks, I experimented with closing comments generally, or opening them up only selectively. 

Comments are now allowed but subject to approval.

To be approved, a comment at this website must be mostly reasonable.  It also must relate to the topic of the post and avoid profanity, crudeness, personal attacks, etc.

I realize that for most commenters, this is no problem.  For others, it will be a difficult threshold to meet.

Nonetheless, I think it will make for a quality blog and quality comments.

Comments can disagree with me as long as they are polite and make sense (the comment is not illogical and not incompatible with basic human decency).

As an example, when it comes to terrorism -- deliberate, premeditated murder of innocent noncombatant civilians as a long-term strategy -- there is no legitimate justification, period.  Therefore, no matter how polite a commenter is in explaining why the Palestinians were within their rights to slaughter another 20 innocent civilians last week or last year (hypothetically, because this never happens in real life), I will not be approving the comment.

Intellectually honest debate is a wonderful thing, as long as everyone doing the debating subscribes to more or less the same basic moral code.  If you are sincerely on board with the Golden Rule, we're likely to be on the same page, moral-compass-wise.

Venemous attacks on anyone will be given a close look even if the person being attacked is a public figure.  If the heat behind the attack seems at least vaguely proportionate to the point you're making and what the person has actually done or failed to do, fine.

What is reasonable is partially subjective, and there will be occasional close calls.  That's life.  Just be reasonable, and all will be well.

Please keep your comments brief (or keep a copy) so that you are not bothered if your comment is not approved.

Since reasonable comments that disagree with me will be posted, approval of any comment is not an endorsement.  It's just means it passed my general filter.  If I don't approve a comment, it didn't pass one of my tests for relevance, decency, etc., or maybe I just erred.  Don't take it personally.  Of course, you can always post the same comments on your own blog.

When I do review comments for approval, I will correct any obvious typographical errors, but otherwise leave them alone. 

Trackbacks to my blog are allowed more liberally.  They have to relate to the post and they need to link to this site.  If the post that's linked is rude or offensive, the trackback won't be approved.

Will this system work?  Will it be unworkable? 

Will it drive you nuts?  Will it drive me nuts? 

Stay tuned and we'll find out together.

Comments

[jack]

Wow ... can't imagine that you refuse to give pro jihadist a free platform on your dime?

Good call. Make them pay for their own to promote their twisted views.