Tips for Prospective Commenters

From the earliest days of this blog, I have had policies guiding how I wish for it to operate. They are found in the three paragraphs to the right of the main page, and they are repeated here:

The Blog: A compendium of thoughts on politics, world affairs, economics, pop culture and social issues, from the center right perspective of me--Bryan McGrath--a University of Virginia graduate who spent a career in the world's greatest Navy keeping my mouth shut about politics and social issues (ok, publicly keeping it shut). Those days are over! Pull up a chair and chime in where you will. Keep it clean, civil, concise and relevant.

The Fish: The fish is a "coat of arms" for the blog, symbolizing three formative influences in the life of the blog founder. The first is his experience at the University of Virginia--symbolized most importantly by the fish itself, or a caricature of a "Wahoo", the fish we have acquired as an informal nickname. Additionally, there is the sword, the sword of a Cavalier. It is not wielded in a threatening manner, as this is a civil blog. But it is there, should it be needed. Thirdly, there is the influence of 21 years in the Navy--symbolized by the anchor on the Wahoo's fin (and again, the sword) . Finally, there is the bowler, tuxedo, and monocle, symbols of a refined, intellectual conservatism, or what I seek to encourage here.

The Policy: I take FULL responsibility for what I write. I will not be held responsible for the content of my comments section--as long as it is civil and passes my own inscrutable sniff tests, it will appear. If the comment offends you, that is on you.

At times, this blog has had unmediated comments, and I would periodically go in and excise those that I felt were not up to snuff. The current policy is mediated comments. If you attempt to comment here, a notification will come to me. I can post it, I can delete it, or I can mark it as spam -- and then if you (using a handle) comment again, it will go directly to spam and I'll never see it.

Since I restarted this blog after my hiatus, the comment section has been lightly populated. First, my absence from social media between Thanksgiving and Christmas dropped readership dramatically. Second, from the restart--I was avoiding putting links to posts directly on Facebook (which drives readership), instead only alerting readers that there was new content. All of this drove readership down, which I'm trying to reverse. However, there have continued to be comments even in this time of low interest, but many of them haven't been published. Here are a few tips on why.

1. Don't insult me. This is my blog, your views have no place here except if I say so--you have no First Amendment right here. If you think that you do, you need more civics education.

2. Don't ask me to cater to your desires or informational needs. You can request that I write about subjects if you like, and if I wish to, I will. But you have no claim on my time or my efforts.

3.  Don't expect me to allow you to spout your MAGA, Trumpkin, crap -- especially if it is loaded with violations of #1. If you have coherent arguments to make, make them. I may or may not respond. I make no apologies for being anti-Trump, and I dramatically limited participation from former co-bloggers who have a different view, urging them to start or resume their own blogs. This is --for me--a megaphone, not a telephone.

4. If I print your comment I have no obligation to comment on it. See #2. I say what I think. You say what you think. If it passes my process, I post it. Game over. Sometimes I'll respond, sometimes I won't.