The comment section on the blog has gotten rather unwieldy and shrill of late. I need to set some ground rules here.
I am not a professional blogger. I can buy a cup of coffee with the money that those stupid ads bring in. I have a day job, and I watch two high maintenance kids. I dash out blog posts while the kids watch a half hour of Cartoon Network. All spelling errors and typos and hasty thoughts should be understood in that context. Criticism is welcome. Just keep in mind how things happen around here.
Because I’m not sitting in front of the computer all day, I cannot monitor the comment section closely. Self-restraint is called for.
This is not a partisan blog. Sure, I’m a leftie. A far leftie on some issues. Conservative sympathies in other areas. But the point of this blog isn’t to get anybody elected. It’s to chat about things and make fun of everybody. I’m happy to have all types in the blog section. In fact, a politically diverse comment section can keep everyone on their toes. If you want to talk to the party faithful and repeat party talking points, that’s fine. There are some wonderful blogs out there that do that. This isn’t one of those blogs.
Subtlety is a beautiful thing. Let’s examine these statements. "Obama supporters are spreading lies that Sarah Palin’s son is a product of incest" and "One guy on Kos said that Sarah Palin’s son is a product of incest." There’s a big difference between those two statements. If that’s difficult to grasp, then this isn’t the right blog for you.
Dinner party etiquette. Don’t dominate the discussion. Don’t shout. Don’t eat with your mouth open.
I like having an active comment section. I like that other bloggers will come here to chat. I like funny comments about beer. Snark is always welcome. I’ve put a list of updated comments on the upper left hand side of the blog, because I think that your input is highly important. But restraint is also needed.
We’re heading into a big election. Readership is increasing. Tempers are getting hotter. All that is fine. Just don’t kill the blog in the process.
Apt. 11d 
Thank you. It is a pity that this reminder is necessary and that regulation is necessary. But until a few days ago, I always found this a place where one could pst and expect thoughtful responses, not wild misstatement and unfair characterizations.
It is fascinating that Palin is prompting such strong sentiments. Those teaching about the election are lucky–I guess. I share Obama’s hope that the election will come down to issues. And I actually think that most Americans probably do, too.
And I look forward to future threads as the Palin story, and others, develop.
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It is fascinating that Palin is prompting such strong sentiments, but it sure didn’t take much to stir the pot. I guess that there is a lot of anger out there on both sides and this story just enabled it to bubble out into the open.
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Every successful adult is the product of thousands of hours of dedicated nagging by those who raised her/him. I can’t count the number of times we’ve told our kids to close their mouths when they eat. Laura, I appreciate what you, our host, put in to keeping our little salon civil and positive.
It is interesting to see the level of rancor which is out there – Megan McArdle has also had a giant troll/rancor problem. When you think about it, there is a huge prize up for the taking – I see it as a choice on whether this society goes in a sort of ‘Europe-soft-socialist’ direction with a Dem takeover of Congress-courts-White House, or continues in the ‘individual-atomistic-self-interest’ which has been the ideology (if often not the practice) of the Reeps. Internationally, the US has been a big outlier in willingness to use force for its interests and in trying to shame countries which oppress their citizens. Obama wants us to play well with others, McCain wants to establish consequences for those who dont play well with us. Harold Koh for Supreme Court? Or another Federalist/Janice Rogers Brown?
These seem to me very significant choices, and it’s not surprising that there’s ill will towards folks who someone thinks is making the wrong choice. That it comes out in gynecological speculations about Sarah Palin is sort of too bad.
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