Comments policy
- I invite and enjoy substantive comments from any ideological perspective. Please contribute to the discussion. I especially welcome those who disagree with me.
- Please refrain from personal attacks. Treat this as a discussion among friends. Debate vigorously and play nicely please. If necessary, I will moderate comments as needed to keep the discussion civil. I will star out vulgarities, and strike personal insults directed at other commenters. You will see < redacted by kbh > where I have done this.
It’s quite simple. Just don’t attack other commenters personally. “Bob, I disagree with you …” is great. “Bob, you’re completely wrong and here’s why …” is fantastic. “Bob, you’re an idiot and you probably kick small animals …” will get you redacted or banned.
During more than seven years working in the United States Senate, I developed respect for the rules of decorum in speaking on the Senate floor. Senators must always address the Chair, rather than speaking directly to each other. Personal attacks are a violation of the Senate rules. Members from radically different ideological perspectives refer to each other as, “My good friend, the Senator from [State],” even when they despise each other. Over time, this artifice creates an environment of vigorous, impassioned, yet civil debate that focuses on policy questions. It infrequently descends into gutter attacks. I hope to create the same environment here, and will do what is necessary to enforce a polite discussion. If you’re a jerk, I’ll ban you. Permanently.
- I will edit, redact, or delete any comments:
- which are comment spam;
- which I think include offensive or inappropriate language (keep it PG-13, please);
- which go wildly off-topic;
- which are paid comments (I mean come on. Seriously. Paid comments?); or
- like “First” and anything else which clearly does not contribute to the discussion.
- Please use either a real name or a pseudonym when commenting, and not a commercial keyword. If your name is “Ringtone” or “Viagra” you’re out of luck, because I’m going to delete your comment as spam.
- You must submit a personal, non-commercial email address or URL to comment, or leave the URL field blank. Commercial URLs are unwelcome and will generally be considered comment spam and deleted.
- I encourage you to contribute relevant links to the discussion. To cut down on comment spam, any comment that includes three or more links will automatically be held for review. I will also delete links which are clearly irrelevant.
- If you violate this comments policy, you will be blocked from future commenting, and maybe from future access to this blog as well. I may warn you before booting you, I may not.
- I reserve all rights to ignore, edit, delete, move, or mark as spam any and all comments, for any reason. I also retain the right to block anyone from commenting or accessing this blog.
- Your comments are your responsibility as a commenter. By submitting a comment on this blog, you agree that the comment content is your own, and you agree to hold this site, Keith Hennessey, and all representatives harmless from any and all repercussions, damages, or liability.
- Trackbacks and pingbacks will be treated as comments.
Hat tip: Lorelle Van Fossen of Lorelle on WordPress, Darren Rowse of ProBlogger, John P. (One Man’s Blog).
