Memo to Commenters

In the almost twelve years Anecdotal Evidence has been around, I have banned three readers from the blog. That is, I have refused to post their comments, and I told them so. All were interested not in anything I had written but in the usual egocentric blather. A blogger I respect explained to me several years ago that comments are almost never about anything other than the commenter, and she has been proven correct. I know several exceptions, well-read readers with insights and interesting things to say, positive and negative. I’m not averse to criticism but I am averse to self-centered tedium.

Two of the three people I banned used pseudonyms. One of them periodically changes his (her?) on-line identity, hoping to sneak past me, and for a time he (she?)does, but eventually the stink of his (her?) ego betrays him (her?). I deleted comments from this person without posting them on Thursday and again tonight. Trust me, you’re not missing a thing. I will no longer post anonymous or pseudonymous comments. If you want to leave a comment, please use your real, verifiable name. If I don’t already know you, send me an email briefly explaining who you are, and I will keep it confidential. I don’t enjoy sounding like a scold but my legitimate readers deserve better and so do I.