Commenting

I am, for the most part, a free speech absolutist. I believe the benefits of  an honest, lively exchange far outweigh the negatives. I do not preapprove comments on this site. There will be days I don’t even see all the comments because, like most of you, I teach all day.

You may leave any kind of comment you want on this site with two exceptions:

  1. Those that aren’t even close to the topic of the post.
  2. Name-calling

I recognize that there will be people who disagree with my and other commenters’ opinions. Good. Those folks keep things interesting and they usually trigger more back and forth.  You will sometimes find a comment to be so ignorant that you will be compelled to aggressively defend your idea, your profession, or even your lifestyle.

If you find that one of your nerves has been struck in this way, please remember to engage the argument and not the person. Disagree with them as passionately as you like, but leave the name-calling out of it. It is beneath you.

Update: comments are disabled until further notice.