Combox

As promised, here is a brief reminder about my expectations for the comment section. They couldn’t possibly be simpler:

I want this to be a place where people can engage in frank but charitable conversation about the Catholic faith without fear of being moderated to death just because they disagree with the post or the prevailing opinions of other commenters.

Disagreements will happen and things may occasionally get a little heated, but I’m not going to play com box cop. Just be civil, and when a disagreement reaches an impasse, shake the dust from your feet and move on.

In the end, each person who comments here is accountable for whatever he or she happens to say. So far, this approach has worked really well. There have been nearly 20,000 comments posted here in the past few years and I’ve never had to remove a commenter for being consistently uncharitable.

NOTE: Comments containing multiple links get trapped in my spam filter. Stick to just one link per comment and it will go through. I don’t review the comments that don’t make it past the filter, so if you have more than one link to share, do so in separate comments.

More pressing at the moment…

Comments should be related to the posted topic. Of course, tangential matters will frequently come up, and within reason, that’s just fine. It can lead to some great conversation.

What I’m not going to allow is for the com box to be treated like a mini blog site for any one, or group of commenter’s pet topic. In fact, this is the only reason I have ever banned a commenter who was otherwise polite and well behaved .

Lately, sedevacantism has become the pet topic that has cropped up in post after post, turning each comment section into a debate on that one topic. Enough already.

Look, I went to a lot of trouble and expense to create a Forum on this site where all are encouraged to zero in on any number of topics. That’s where the sedevacante debate usually, but not always, belongs.

Obviously, I don’t endorse the theory, but I am sympathetic to those who do. We’re all just doing our best to make sense out of this terrible crisis, so in that regard, we have way more in common than either of us do with the nitwits who can’t make excuses for the pope fast enough.

In short, I welcome their participation here, provided it falls in line with what is said above.

Incidentally, yesterday’s post happens to be one where it is entirely proper to discuss how a materially heretical pope is judged to be a formal heretical, but as I recall we went down that road in any number of other posts where it wasn’t exactly related.

Everyone who posts here is bright enough to get the point.

Lastly, please know that I’m grateful for all who comment here. Seriously, the depth of insight in the combox here alone is a benefit to readers, and I’ve learned from them as much as anyone.

Carry on!

Latest Comments

  1. OaTmEaL June 21, 2015
  2. Ever mindful June 21, 2015
  3. In Hoc Signo Vinces June 21, 2015
  4. Barbara June 21, 2015
  5. mpoulin June 21, 2015
  6. salvemur June 21, 2015
  7. de Maria numquam satis June 22, 2015
  8. de Maria numquam satis June 22, 2015
  9. In Hoc Signo Vinces June 22, 2015
  10. Dumb_ox June 22, 2015
  11. salvemur June 22, 2015
  12. salvemur June 22, 2015
  13. de Maria numquam satis June 22, 2015
  14. mpoulin June 22, 2015
  15. In Hoc Signo Vinces June 22, 2015
  16. Christina64 June 22, 2015
  17. TWN June 25, 2015
  18. TWN June 25, 2015
  19. TWN June 25, 2015
  20. TWN June 25, 2015
  21. Christina64 June 26, 2015