



1. Please keep in mind that I, and everyone who sees what you have to say, are people, not just words on a screen. I screen the com-box both for my own sake and for that of my readers, some of whom are, I guarantee you, in a painful and confusing place, and don't need people dumping on them, either as individuals or as members of a category of folk.





2. I'm not going to publish comments that consist merely in insults. This is the internet -- which means that if you're having an irrational outburst or suffering from brain spiders or whatever, you're free to take a minute to calm yourself and address things rationally. Take it. You won't regret it. (Corollary: if the blog bores you, don't yawn to me about it -- why waste your own, I presume valuable, time? Go read something you like.)





3. If you disagree with or dislike what I've posted and want to interact on that basis, please do so respectfully. I might still publish your comment even if it's rudely written, if I think you make a worthwhile point; being rude to other commenters, however, is a surefire way to get your remarks deleted.





4. If you wear me to exhaustion or creep me out, yes, I'll ban you. (This ban will be posted in the comments.) I don't have any controls up to tell one user from another, because I don't like to restrict the com-box, so this ban admittedly kinda works on the honor system: I hope readers will have the self-respect to abide by it. If a comment seems recognizably to be from a user I've banned, I'll delete it; my sincere apologies to anyone whose comment is wrongly deleted.

I like and welcome feedback, including critiques and pushback. In commenting, though, I do ask readers to observe the following guidelines: