An editorial note

I have been pondering something, and have come to a decision. I am going to steal.

More specifically, I am going to steal a commenting policy from my friends and occasional hosts over at The League of Ordinary Gentlemen. They enjoy a healthy level of back and forth in their comments, but do so within the bounds of civility. I would prefer that we move toward a similar level of decorum here.

So, here are a few guidelines.

1) Let's try not to use swear words. At least, let's try to avoid using them about each other. If a particular public figure seems flagrantly guilty of spewing excrement, and you just have to use a synonym for same to describe it, I can live with occasional lapses. But otherwise, let's try to use polite terminology.

2) Let's try to avoid attacking the integrity of fellow commenters. Yes, I realize that there are certain regular contributors to the discussion who take a decidedly different viewpoint from the generally left-of-center tack I happen to take, and that can be a bit frustrating from time to time. I can dig it. But, from my perspective as the co-blogger of a very small blog with a similarly small readership, I'm glad to have regular readers period, and I'd like to avoid alienating anyone if I can help it.

3) Please try to stay on topic. If the main post is about the Sultan of Brunei, keep your comments limited to oil-rich states in the Pacific. I don't care how much you hate Nancy Pelosi, for example. Unless she's vacationing in Borneo or something, I don't want to hear about her in the comments. The blogosphere offers space aplenty for all manner of perspectives, and everyone can start their own Pelosi-bashing-blog free of charge.

I don't plan to ban anyone's IP address or switch to moderated comments, or anything drastic. I think we can all play nicely together, because we're all smart, cooperative people. Right? However, I reserve the right to blithely delete any comment I happen to find in violation of the spirit of this policy.

Cheers!