I am sorry to do this, but I have had to turn comment moderation on. So if your comment does not appear right away, be patient
I anticipated this might be necessary with posting some more provocative material.
There are over 1200 comments on the blog. Any regular reader can see there is plenty of good argument and productive discussion. I have unilaterally deleted exactly 2 posts in 5 months, both for being disrespectful or insulting.
Today, I deleted an additional 3 at the request of a poster.
Here's the deal. This is my journal for the purpose of sharing my own ideas. It is in my interest to have intelligent commentary from readers, and I welcome it. I encourage those who disagree to include references, point out errors or question my reasoning as much as you want. You can tell I like to argue - I do it a lot! I am pretty emphatic in my arguments and I have never had a post of mine deleted from the thousands I have posted on other forums - that should tell you something
There are two ways to get your post deleted.
1) Insult me or another poster. ( Call me a "prick", say I am a typical arrogant doctor, imply I am stupid or can't analyze data, challenge me to delete your post by saying I kill people with radiation, etc.)
2) Be irrelevant without being entertaining.
It helps to remember there is necessarily an asymmetry here. When I write a post that gores your ox, it is not directed at you personally. So if you don't respond as if it was, you will be less likely to insult me.
I think of the asymmetry like this: If you come into my house or place of business to solicit my opinion, your tolerance for the articulated opinion you then hear should probably be fairly high - you didn't have to come after all. Likewise, if I go to your blog, and I want to participate, I will address you with respect even if I very much disagree with you. It's in my interest not to crap on your carpet if I am invited in!
To those who think I should not delete posts; my domain, my rules. If you prefer to insult the domain owner and then be flayed in public, you can go over to Richard's blog and insult him:)
I am sorry to do this, but I have had to turn comment moderation on. So if your comment does not appear right away, be patient
I anticipated this might be necessary with posting some more provocative material.
There are over 1200 comments on the blog. Any regular reader can see there is plenty of good argument and productive discussion. I have unilaterally deleted exactly 2 posts in 5 months, both for being disrespectful or insulting.
Today, I deleted an additional 3 at the request of a poster.
Here's the deal. This is my journal for the purpose of sharing my own ideas. It is in my interest to have intelligent commentary from readers, and I welcome it. I encourage those who disagree to include references, point out errors or question my reasoning as much as you want. You can tell I like to argue - I do it a lot! I am pretty emphatic in my arguments and I have never had a post of mine deleted from the thousands I have posted on other forums - that should tell you something
There are two ways to get your post deleted.
1) Insult me or another poster. ( Call me a "prick", say I am a typical arrogant doctor, imply I am stupid or can't analyze data, challenge me to delete your post by saying I kill people with radiation, etc.)
2) Be irrelevant without being entertaining.
It helps to remember there is necessarily an asymmetry here. When I write a post that gores your ox, it is not directed at you personally. So if you don't respond as if it was, you will be less likely to insult me.
I think of the asymmetry like this: If you come into my house or place of business to solicit my opinion, your tolerance for the articulated opinion you then hear should probably be fairly high - you didn't have to come after all. Likewise, if I go to your blog, and I want to participate, I will address you with respect even if I very much disagree with you. It's in my interest not to crap on your carpet if I am invited in!
To those who think I should not delete posts; my domain, my rules. If you prefer to insult the domain owner and then be flayed in public, you can go over to Richard's blog and insult him:)