Commenting Rules

This page is my public space to express ideas, engage in civil (or uncivil, at my discretion) discourse at my leisure.  It's under my name, and attached to my account, therefore everything here is Mine.  Others are welcome to participate and engage in the discussions and conversations that happen here, so long as they follow the Rules and understand everything posted in the Intellectual Property Crap section.

Recursive Topics Are Recursive is Rated M for Mature.

Commenting Rules

1. Do Not Troll My Blog.  Your Comment will not appear for long, and will likely be saved for my own amusement.  While I intend to address some of my interesting views on Trolling in all its forms at some point, if you Troll with the intent of the original definition, you probably won't make it past Moderation.  I consider my Personal Cyberspace to be just as valuable to me as my physical home, and if you came into my house and started talking a bunch of shit to me and my friends, your ass would be summarily booted from there as well.

2. Civility is Not a Bad Thing.  The entire fucking point of "Civilization" developing was to establish a way to work out interpersonal problems without constantly physically killing each other. "Diplomacy" was originally to facilitate the same level of polite communication between Social Groups, or "Societies".  If you have something pertinent to say, you *will* keep a civil tongue to your voice in addressing your points.  I don't care how much you disagree with another person or idea, there is never a circumstance where you cannot present yourself respectfully to Difference of Opinion.  As it says above the Comments Box, public discourse is not a back-alley knife fight.  It's entirely possible to be polite even if you don't believe in being PC.

3. This is a Blog, Not a News Site.  While I may repost some articles, there are probably some out there that I'm not aware of, and I make no claim to any secret trove of knowledge or facts that anyone else doesn't have.  If you think something is factually inaccurate, your rebuttal and sources are welcome in the Comments Section as long as they follow these Rules.

4. Do Not Mistake Kindness and Compassion for Weakness.  Do not think that because I'm tolerant of opposing or conflicting viewpoints that you can abuse me or my site or walk all over me.  Just because I'm telling you to play nice when you're in my Arena of Civil Discourse doesn't mean I won't shut you down faster than you can blink if it seems like you're trying to abuse my tolerance.  I don't mind conflict, I can't stand Drama.  Know the difference between the two.

5. Consider Your Sources.  Unlike some people, I'm not all that tolerant of certain "sources" that I routinely find to be biased, misologistic, or alarmist in nature.  If you come at me with Alex Jones or FOX News as your "source", you might get through... But only so that me and my friends can take you apart.  We all enjoy a good laugh now and then.  If you feel I'm unfairly judging your "source" for some reason, you're welcome to try to back it up.  But it's going to take quite a bit to make me reconsider my opinions of a Conspiracy Theorist who routinely cites his own Website as sources in his work or the Right-Wing Puppet Propaganda Pals.  Also keep in mind that some articles from otherwise-banned "sources" may be considered, at my sole discretion, on an individual basis, if I review it and find that it has merit.  That's the exception, not the rule.

6. Anonymity is Not a Pass to Act Like a Dick.  I recognize the necessity of not signing your name to something at times.  There are some very good reasons why you might have something to say without wanting anyone to know who's saying it, and I can respect that.  However, the Rules will be applied with extra scrutiny to any Anonymous comment.  If you're not signing your name to something, either you're just passing through from somewhere else, or you have a *damn* good reason for choosing to post in that format.  Anonymity on this Blog is a Privilege.  Do not abuse it.

7. Established Facts Don't Need Rehashing.  One interesting thing to me is that the word "Revolution" refers to both new and fresh ideas, and also the motion of going around in circles, over and over.  At the same time, if you think that someone's sources are incorrect, feel free to introduce new data, but keep in mind that I *do* generally check the dates on sources and compare the results.  Waste my time too many times, and you'll have great difficulty earning my attention again.

8. Do Not Mistake My High Standards As Infringement On Your First Amendment Rights.  This is most certainly a Tyranny; what I say goes.  As I have ideals that are generally in line with the ones that Google requires for me to operate this Blog on their Site, their Rules are also my Rules.  I have certain expectations about the content of what gets posted here.  If you try to post something that contains something inflammatory, I'll ask you to revise your statements to conform to these Rules.  You are not being Censored, you're being Edited, because this is *my* writing space.  You are Guests in *my* section of Cyberspace.

9. Attack the Politics, Not the Person. This is my Cardinal Rule.  If you disagree with someone's Source or opinion, you have *every* right to voice your dissent. What you're *not* allowed to do is make attacks on their personal character in the process.  *All* ideas have merit in some form or another. Radical Science and Philosophy are both just as welcome here if they conform to my standards.  I post as Shades of Grey for a reason; there are few subjects that I consider to be completely valid at either end of their Extremes, because the biggest fanatics on either side also generally tend to be the biggest bigots.  Nothing in real life

I respect your right to have your opinions.  I also have certain expectations for their depth and quality before you express them on my Blog.  If you have something to say that I find has no merit, there are plenty of places elsewhere to express those ideas.  You can send me hate mail if you like; anything amusing will be kept and used for my own amusement, and anything that I deem genuinely threatening will be forwarded to Google and the Police.  That's your only warning.  I recommend against testing it.

10. Civil Discourse Is Not A Back Alley Knife Fight.

Follow those ten Rules, and you should be fine.

(Special thanks to Jim Wright and his Blog, Stonekettle Station, for the inspiration and some of the formatting for my own rules.  Jim's a swell guy.  If zombies ever attack, I'll likely try to find him.)