Comments Are Now Open

A number of people have asked me to turn comments back on for the blog. We have made the necessary tweaks to the software and are now able to accept comments again. Commenters will need to register first, and there is a link on the login page for that. A link to the comment policy is at the bottom of the sidebar.The comment section is for thoughtful discussion of the issues presented by the post. Unfortunately, comment sections often go downhill, in large part due to “trolls,” etc. who have no interest in thoughtful discussion but simply want to make nuisances of themselves. A few changes have been made in an effort to keep the discussion on a higher plane.

All users are required to give their real names upon registration. There is some deterrent effect against misbehavior from removing anonymity. I realize that some people legitimately want anonymity because they do not feel that they can post unpopular positions under their real names. That is a trade-off, but we believe that the balance tips in favor of the real name requirement.

Comments will not show by default. There is a “Show Comments” button at the bottom of each post for readers to wish to read the comments. Unfortunately, the software does not at this time remember that a user has chosen “Show Comments,” so the button will need to be pushed for each post and each time the post is reloaded, including after posting a comment. We hope to correct that in the not-too-distant future.

Registration requires a confirmation via email. The first comment will need to be manually approved by a blog administrator before it becomes visible. After one is approved, further comments will show immediately unless we manually put the commenter on moderated status. I will try to avoid doing that, but it’s better than banning someone outright.

We look forward to some interesting discussions.