"Obloquy injures my self-esteem, and I'm suspicious of flattery." -- Jack Vance
I'm interested in only two types of comments: comments that demonstrate (or at least try to demonstrate) where I've gone wrong, made a mistake, or reasoned poorly. Whether you're correct or not, I'm interested in some sort of argument for why you disagree. Closely related are comments that extend or expand upon something that I've written. I also welcome comments that contain links to this kind of criticism, or other material that relates to my work.
I'm simply not interested that you think I'm a poopy-head. I'm an atheist, a "militant" atheist, a member of the most unpopular minority of the most unpopular minority in the world. I take it for granted that only archaic (and rapidly eroding) notions such as "freedom of speech" and "due process of law" keep me very literally from being hanged, drawn and quartered. So I'm not at all impressed or disturbed that a lot of people don't like what I have to say.
And, while I enjoy praise as much as the next guy, I don't want a coterie of sycophants. So... with the possible exception of certain long-time commenters, who have shown themselves capable of and interested in actual rational argument, if you don't post some kind of argument, I'm not going to publish your comment. If you want to tell the world what a wonderful guy I am, put me on your blogroll and write a nice post about me there. If you want to tell the world what a poopy-head I am, post that on your own blog as well.
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Please pick a handle or moniker for your comment. It's much easier to address someone by a name or pseudonym than simply "hey you". I have the option of requiring a "hard" identity, but I don't want to turn that on... yet.
With few exceptions, I will not respond or reply to anonymous comments, and I may delete them. I keep a copy of all comments; if you want the text of your comment to repost with something vaguely resembling an identity, email me.
No spam, pr0n, commercial advertising, insanity, lies, repetition or off-topic comments. Creationists, Global Warming deniers, anti-vaxers, Randians, and Libertarians are automatically presumed to be idiots; Christians and Muslims might get the benefit of the doubt, if I'm in a good mood.
See the Debate Flowchart for some basic rules.
Sourced factual corrections are always published and acknowledged.
I will respond or not respond to comments as the mood takes me. See my latest comment policy for details. I am not a pseudonomous-American: my real name is Larry.
Comments may be moderated from time to time. When I do moderate comments, anonymous comments are far more likely to be rejected.
I've already answered some typical comments.
I have jqMath enabled for the blog. If you have a dollar sign (\$) in your comment, put a \\ in front of it: \\\$, unless you want to include a formula in your comment.
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