We had some complaints yesterday concerning some comments made in the Open Thread, specifically a few which took on a tone that some found hateful. I don’t think anything truly harmful was intended, but I did agree that the comments were inappropriate. As a result, we’ve chosen to delete the entire thread since we didn’t feel like sifting through hundreds of comments to remove any offensive material.

For the most part, Eric and I are content to let you all police yourselves; those of you who regularly post around here know we’re very hands-off when it comes to comment moderation. We believe keeping conversation civil, thoughtful, and polite is a personal responsibility, not something that needs careful regulation–besides, I’m a busy man, and I don’t have any interest in guiding the discourse here.

Still, I’d like to take this opportunity to remind everyone of our comment guidelines and offer a little friendly advice: Think before you write. Whether you intend anything hateful or not, you are responsible for what you type, and I’m relying on you to know what’s appropriate in a public forum and what isn’t. If there are certain types of discussions where you can’t trust yourself to act civilly, steer clear. We have a “one strike and you’re out rule” with regard to hateful language, and I sure don’t want to delete anyone’s account over a single asinine comment.

To the vast majority to whom this doesn’t apply: I apologize for wasting your time.

Thanks,

Alex