About Commenting Here….

About Commenting Here…. March 19, 2016

This morning, after posting my essay about the Bible and genocide yesterday, I found almost sixty comments waiting for my moderation. (Some came in while I was reading ones already here when I opened my blog messages!) Given my limited time (and patience), please follow these guidelines when commenting:

  1. Keep your comments relatively brief (no more than 250 words).
  2. Do not expect your comment to appear here if you misrepresent what I wrote or engage in ad hominem argumentation or wander off topic.
  3. Remember the purpose of the blog which is dialogue not polemics.
  4. Don’t expect me to respond to every comment; my limited time simply does not allow it.
  5. Please don’t ask me to do research for you.
  6. If you want to argue with another commenter, please take it off my blog. E-mail him or her directly. In most cases you can find his or her e-mail address.
  7. Know that occasionally Patheos’s discussion program (Disqus) breaks down. This morning a couple message I intended to respond to simply disappeared and I could not find them anywhere. Occasionally Disqus simply stops working. When I get it back some comments have gone away.

Thank you for your understanding. Know that I am not trying to censor anyone who follows the “rules of the road.” Be civil, respectful, stick to the subject, remember dialogue is the purpose, don’t misrepresent my expressed view or anyone else’s. Don’t attempt to “back me into a corner;” with hostile questioning. I don’t appreciate that. When you comment, think of yourself as entering my office or living room. Don’t say anything you wouldn’t say there. Finally, please try to restrict yourself to one or two comments per day. Finally, if you only purpose in coming to my blog is to argue with me, don’t expect me to take the bait. I may, but sometimes I won’t. Eventually I will probably ban you.


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