This seems to happen every time I write about something contentious relating to the Belfast Project case. Readers submit a bunch of comments that I refuse to print, mostly because they are insulting rants directed at me or at others. In general, when this happens, I write to the commenter, explain why I’m not publishing the comment, and invite him or her to resubmit the comment without the offensive contents. I rarely hear back.

Just in case there has been any doubt about my editorial policy on this or the kind of forum I am trying to foster here, I have modified my terms of use to include the following reminder:

I welcome comments from all readers on anything you read here at Letters Blogatory. This includes criticisms of anything I write, substantive criticisms of any view I advance, and substantive criticisms of me or others. However, I do not publish comments that in my judgment contain inappropriate language, ad hominem attacks, threats, invective—you get the idea. In other words, please respect the tone of this online forum when commenting. In general, I reserve the right to refuse to publish any post or comment submitted, to edit the post or comment for length or style, and to remove the post or comment (or refuse to remove it) from Letters Blogatory, without permission from you.

Thanks for reading, but please—keep it classy!