From my inbox:
Your skin is a bit too thin, and I believe that is leading you down the wrong path. It might not appear that way today, but, with all the times you have censored (delays, lack of posting, attitudes etc.) various people in the field, many who know one another, you develop a reputation. Things change with time and so do the desirable aspects of one’s reputation. Some don’t bother to stick around to be noticed like I do, but that is what I do. There will always be those that demonstrate significant disagreement with you no matter how many you censor. It is hard to take back actions or even what is written whether or not they are publicly posted. I feel bad because I believe you have more promise than you give yourself credit for (no matter what your underlying ideology), but you seem to be stuck in that closed mindset where fitting in sometimes becomes more important than the truth.
This pertains to comment moderation. All I can say is, my skin is vastly thicker than it was a few years ago. I would hazard a guess that it is thicker than someone who sends emails like the one above, and under a pseudonym no less.
But that’s not what’s relevant here. What’s relevant is adherence to the comments policy, which is posted and to which every commenter stipulates acceptance upon submission.
Delays in comment posting occur so we can perform necessary moderation functions, the burden of which has grown considerably. If you don’t like delays, don’t comment here. Berating me doesn’t help.
As a result of that moderation, very few comments that aren’t obvious spam are rejected. We normally go weeks to months without rejecting even one. Often we provide a warning first. For someone’s comments to be systematically rejected, one has to plainly violate the policy for quite some time. If you don’t like running the risk of having your comment rejected, follow the policy or don’t comment here. The vast, vast majority of readers can do this. All the individuals who have been unable to do so could fill a small phone booth.*
It’s very easy to start a blog, tweet, or even send email. The only censoring happening is self-inflicted.
* UPDATE: In jest, I am sure, I’m told that some millennials might not know the size of a “phone booth.” Just in case, replace that text with “shower stall” and you’ll get the idea.
