Comments are an integral part of the weblog experience. They provide two-way communication and the chance to correct facts, annotate a post with more information, or provide insight. I've learned and incredible amount from people that have commented on this site.

From time to time, however, I've also experienced the dark side of comments. Anonymity on the Internet enables the a dark side in people's behavior, one of the results of which is abusive, hostile comments. There is also a huge problem with spam in blog comments. Due to these factors, I do delete certain kinds of comments.

If you use hostile language, ad hominem attacks, excessive foul language, or post spam to this website, I will delete it. I am the sole arbiter of what constitutes a violation of this policy on this website.

On the other hand, in the interest of promoting healthy debate, I will make this pledge: I will not delete comments based on political, ideological, or technical differences in opinion. You are certainly free to disagree with me and other commenters here, and I'm happy for you to do so here. All I ask is that you do it in a fashion that is respectful and well argued.

To aid in the process of comment management, the software that runs this site uses a variety of techniques to filter spam, including moderation. Because of this, your comments may not be immediately visible.