Housekeeping: Comments and Guest Posts

One of my favorite things about blogging here is the interesting comment threads that develop on the posts.  I’ve really enjoyed the discussions we’ve had these past few weeks, and I particularly appreciate everyone who’s taken time to patiently explain their views to someone on the opposite side of a religious divide.  It was one of my goals when I started this blog to have a place where religious people and atheists could spat respectfully and productively, and to further that goal, I wanted to go over two quick tips.

Blogger’s Comment Spam Filter Sucks

I don’t censor comments on this blog and I haven’t been plagued by spam, but, unfortunately, there’s no way to turn off Google’s automatic filter since its roll out last year.  Sporadically, your comments get caught in the spam filter, especially when you post a couple long comments in a row.

I don’t always notice immediately when comments are flagged, since I get email notifications rather than checking them through blogger’s interface (easier to use on a cell phone).  If you think a comment got eaten by the filter and I haven’t fixed it, feel free to let me know at leah DOT libresco AT gmail DOT com.

Some problems aren’t the fault of the spam filter but are the result of crashing browsers or bad internet connections.  If you’re writing something long and thought out, you should probably save it in a word doc while you work on it.  Or you could see heading number two.

Invitation for Guest Posting

When comment threads get very long or when you are about to offer an in depth explanation of/argument for your position, you should feel free to contact me at the email address above about the possibility of writing a guest post.  I like being able to highlight particularly interesting threads of a debate, and a guest post allows a fuller explanation than comment threads usually do.  Additionally, not all of the blog subscribers follow comment threads, so a guest post is a good way to be sure that your idea is accessible to all the readers of the blog.

If anyone from the prayer thread or the miracle thread would like to talk to me about guest posting, please let me know.