In my Libertarian reluctance to assert authority, I have allowed this forum to get out of hand. That stops on publication of this post.
This forum has a handful of regular posters, but about 40 people who read it on a daily basis. I have received emails from readers who were leaving the forum because it had become so toxic it was no longer enjoyable. That defeats the purpose of the blog.
Effective immediately, posts that are uncivil will be reverted to draft status for revision. Republished without correction, they will be deleted and the poster placed on moderation.
Uncivil comments will be deleted.
I do not want to be arbitrary, so I will list some causes for rejection, subject to change with experience.
Titles will describe the subject of the post. If I can’t tell what a post is about from the title, it will be unpublished without reading.
Allegations of racism or lying must be supported in the post or comment. Guilt by association will not be accepted. Any insulting characterization of anyone must be supported with fact or reason.
A lie will be defined as knowingly making a false statement. An opinion can be debated, but it cannot be a lie. A statement that proves to be incorrect is not necessarily a lie unless it can be established that the statement was known to be untrue by the person making the statement at the time it was made.
Public officials must be addressed by title in the first use, and by either title or last name thereafter, derogatory nicknames (Ex “Obummer”) will not be tolerated.
Ad hominem arguments and topic hijacking will also cause a post or comment to disappear.
Mr Roberts and Mr Rothman also have administrator authority, so they can apply these standards to me.
So, be civil and make your points.
@Tabor
Uh, no thanks.
I will make this my last post. The constant effort to correct the stream of “alternative facts” and utter nonsense emanating from the Trump supporters around here is not worth the effort. Never has been. But even less so with YOU being able to block anything that I might say in rebuttal that YOU do not like. Your equating my posts with the silly rubbish and the childish name-calling of people like Mr. Smith and your BASELESS accusations that my titles are “insulting” and “uncivil” tells me that your judgment is not to be trusted.
So, good bye and good luck. Try to stay safe and try to beat those 50% odds you spoke of the other day.
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Hello Donald,
You had me at Mr. Roberts will have Administrative authority.
So, I’ll bid you Adieu.
And thanks for all the fish…..
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Jimmie, please see my post below.
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Unless it got blocked.
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D-Doc?
Please accept my apologies if any of my posts have been uncivil.
Your blog…your rules.
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I have been guilty myself, hence I have dispersed enforcement
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All in jest. Never even raised the BP. While the BR moderator is constantly warning of how to comment, he seems to neglect giving warning to those with whom he is aligned. Funny how that works. Good luck with trying.
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Seems to me that instead of packing up their luggage and leaving the site that has somehow offending them, the 40 silent members might jump have jumped in the conversations themselves. So much more to say, but I see no need to frighten the silent majority, here, more.
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A couple corrections needed for my post . . .
Seems to me that instead of packing up their luggage and leaving the site that has somehow offended them, the 40 silent members might have jumped in the conversations themselves. So much more to say, but I see no need to frighten the silent majority, here, more.
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Maybe I forgot to push SEND.
Don, may I suggest that Mssrs. Roberts and Rothman be responsible for screening your posts only. I do trust your judgement for moderation. However, others may not trust Mssrs. Roberts or Rothman to moderate their’s.
It is just a suggestion to keep the conversations lively, but fair and civil.
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Don, Please disregard the email I sent. Apparently it was “operator error” on my end.
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OK
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While I did fall into a relatiatory trajectory of responding to posters that appeared to be overly obnoxious, insulting and conspiracy proned, I will keep it civil.
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“Relatiatory trajectory”, many times you were more than justified.
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