A note to commenters (rated R)

As I have mentioned a time or two before, we seek to maintain a tone appropriate to civil discourse on this site. It is a tone that comes naturally to most of our readers and commenters.

I review comments for abuse and vulgarity. Most of our commenters have no problem speaking in polite company. However, every day I now moderate comments by commenters who are routinely vulgar. Some commenters appear to be incapable of expressing themselves without recourse to words such as “ass” or “asshole” or “dumbass” or “bastard” or “shit” or “bullshit” or “fuck” or “balls” (of the anatomical variety) or the like and their many colorful variants. One commenter specializes in “libtard,” a word which is not acceptable here.

Our software generally holds such comments and prevents them from appearing without approval, but I am tired of reading them. Those of you who use such language in comments are warned to behave. Those of you who persist in using such language are cordially invited to take your business elsewhere. If you don’t, we will resort to the expedient of banning you from the comments.

We will not always toe the line ourselves. Quod licet Iovi, non licet bovi.

Personal abuse of fellow commenters or of the proprietors of this site is also discouraged. Even without vulgarity, personal abuse is unwelcome. Commenters who engage in it will be banned summarily.

These are the guidelines we apply:

We prize civil discourse and ask our commenters to observe elementary courtesies.

Exceptions may be made, and the line may be blurry, but vulgarity is prohibited.

Personal abuse of Power Line authors and commenters is prohibited.

Anonymous/pseudonymous comments are discouraged. If you have a good reason for hiding behind a pseudonym, send a message to my attention at our email address and I will entertain it.

These guidelines are not exhaustive. They may be applied inconsistently and their violation may result in the deletion of comments and the banning of commenters.

Thank you for your courtesies and consideration.

Notice: All comments are subject to moderation. Our comments are intended to be a forum for civil discourse bearing on the subject under discussion. Commenters who stray beyond the bounds of civility or employ what we deem gratuitous vulgarity in a comment — including, but not limited to, “s***,” “f***,” “a*******,” or one of their many variants — will be banned without further notice in the sole discretion of the site moderator.

Responses