Amended comments policy

Listen up, because this affects you if you comment here.

I post a lot about the election, and Sarah Palin, obviously. What I don't like is when I post about something specific, and the comboxes get taken over by a general discussion of all things Palin. For example, I posted a thing below linking to Alan Jacobs and his biography, and why that makes him feel that when Palin is attacked in particular ways, he and his people are coming under attack. The thread quickly swung to fists flying over the Bridge to Nowhere, Republican corruption and suchlike. Sorry to those who posted, but I took those posts down. There are plenty of threads on this site where you can more plausibly bring this stuff up.

I want there to be some order to the discussions we have here. People who are interested in, say, class conflict and the Palin nomination presumably would like to see a discussion more or less focused on that, and not veering off into arguments about pipelines and bridges. Just because I put a Palin thread up, don't take that as license to throw whatever's on your mind, pro- or anti-Palin, up on the site to see what sticks.

Additionally, if you don't want your remarks taken down without notice, do the following:

+ Avoid super-long posts.

+ DON'T WRITE IN ALL CAPS.

+ Don't attack others in this forum personally. This is the basic rule around here.

+ Don't paste in lengthy quotes from other sources.

+ Don't be blustery in your comments. I know, this is a subjective judgment, discerning the difference between robust commentary and blustery commentary. But if you're carrying on in a manner that suggests to me someone who's had too much to drink at a party, and is talking at people in a rude manner that inhibits discussion, then I will call you a cab and show you the door -- either temporarily (unpublishing your post) or permanently (unpublishing all your posts henceforth, consigning you to Troll Hell). This rule applies equally, irrespective of the content of your post. IOW, even if you agree with me, you'll still get unpublished if you act like a boor on this site. My experience on this site is that more people participate in the commentary if they feel that they aren't stepping into a barfight.

+ Don't assume I read every comment. If something slips through that violates the rules or that you find abusive, please let me know at rdreher (at) dallasnews.com. Readers write me frequently to alert me to things that I wouldn't otherwise have known about.

+ Any questions or complaints? E-mail me at rdreher (at) dallasnews.com. And, as ever, if your comment hasn't posted, e-mail me as soon as you can, and I'll free it up from the spam bucket. If you don't do this reasonably quickly, it'll be lost.