Quick review of my posting policy

I appreciate all the feedback I get; both positive and negative. If you post a comment and you don't see it right away, don't be offended. Between my work schedule and just wanting to be out once in a while I am not always near my computer. I do try to check messages three or four times a day so they come up eventually.

Understand that while I have mostly progressive views, there are some points on which I lean conservative. For example, I support the idea of abolishing the marriage penalty (i.e. income splitting) and I oppose gay marriage. On some medical ethics issues, I can get emotional at times; and these always seem to get the most heartfelt and even angry responses. That's fine. I'm not trying to preach to the converted or the choir, I'm just calling it the way I see it.

There are, however, a few basic rules. These aren't set in stone and common sense will guide what comments I delete, but generally:

• Stay on topic, and if you're posting a reply make sure it's attached to the appropriate post. It's no use to comment about the weather in a post about family benefits, when I wrote about the weather five posts down.
• The odd expletive, I can tolerate. Write like Andrew Dice Clay speaks, however, and it won't get posted.
• No advertising. This should be more than obvious, but you'd be surprised how many auto bots out there go looking to post links to so-called "secured" credit cards when one writes about credit card fraud.
• Don't try to change the subject and talk about your personal life or how the world is out to get you or anything like that. In my previous home, I wrote one post about how I felt about the age of consent (that it should be raised to 16 for straight sex, and lowered to the same age for gays and lesbians; with some leniency for situations where both parties are teenagers below that age). Imagine my anger when someone said I was accusing him of being a pedophile. I never did any such thing. I didn't link to his site. I didn't even know who he was.
• Lastly, the odd reminder about pending legal actions or restraining orders is helpful but I'd appreciate it if it's limited to the mailing lists of the blog rolls I'm on, off site and on my private e-mail. In one case I did make reference to another person's blog without any knowledge legal action was in progress until months later -- and in any case the post had absolutely nothing to do with the issue in question, but something else that person wrote. I decided there was no need to delete the post in that situation. Suffice it to say, I believe someone is presumed innocent until proven guilty.

Other than that, let it ride. Like I said at the top, give me your best shot.

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