New Comment Policy

From now on, I will delete any negative, anonymous comments from this blog. This is because I firmly believe that if you have a constructive comment to make about something I wrote, you should be able to put your real name on it (or a screen name you use elsewhere online). If you find yourself writing a negative comment that you’d rather keep anonymous from me, this is probably because what you’re saying isn’t helpful or constructive.

If you don’t feel comfortable having others read your comment with your name attached to it, you are free to email it to me at miriam[at]brutereason.net or contact me through Facebook.

If you don’t actually know me personally but found this blog through the internet somehow, I would prefer that you link to your blog or other sort of site. Although, if I think your comment is really interesting and/or constructive, I might leave it up anyways.

Regardless, if I decide to delete an anonymous comment, I will leave a note referring to this comment policy and inviting you to repost your comment with some sort of identification attached. If you don’t want to, that’s fine.

Ultimately, this is an issue of accountability. I criticize a lot of people and institutions on this blog, but I use my real name because I prefer to take ownership of my opinions. If you can’t do the same, then, with all due respect, keep your opinions to yourself. I never expect more of others than I would expect from myself, so I think I’m being fair in this regard.

In other words, no more of this “an acquaintance” or “someone you know” crap. If you know me and disagree with me, own up to it.

Thanks for reading.

Update: Here’s the rest of the comment policy!

Image credit

{advertisement}
New Comment Policy
{advertisement}

3 thoughts on “New Comment Policy

  1. 2

    I never comment anonymously. Previously, I’d go by ‘liberalcynic.’ But a few weeks ago, I decided to attach my real name to my opinions. It just made more sense. And you’re right about anonymous comments—at best, anyone who’s too lazy to enter their email address and a first-name probably shows the same respect to their argument. At worst, they intend to inflame.

    1. 2.1

      Probably. This especially happens to me because I write about Northwestern-related things sometimes, and people just looove to weigh in on that without giving out their name so that I don’t judge them in real life.

      Not that I judge anyone who articulates reasonable opinions in a respectful manner.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.