I welcome conversation, even when we don’t agree. I don’t squirm when people argue their positions passionately, and I work on the assumption that anyone who comments here can handle some heat.

There are limits, however. I reserve the right to edit* or delete any comment or thread, especially those that include:

• insults, personal attacks (especially threats), or ad hominem arguments
• excessive potty-mouthery
• off-topic meandering
• spam or other commercial stuff
• sockpuppetry
• anything I find boring or obnoxious

Yes, that is all subjective. But in the end, it’s up to me, with all my capriciousness, Whitmanesque contradiction, and penchant for Bushmills.

*For one possible editing strategy, see John Scalzi’s “Kitten Setting.”