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● E-mail to authors who have chosen to display their e-mail addresses on their personal pages. (Follow links from authors’ names on articles or feedback comments to their personal pages.)
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We require real names for registration (first initial, last name is OK as it would be for bylines) so that real names are associated with comments. We monitor and delete obvious violations but do not spend too much time managing the ways people can work around using real names (including using plausible but fake names). From time to time, we will allow anonymous comments just as we sometimes allow anonymous sources. In those cases we would weigh the costs and benefits of an anonymous comment, what it adds to the discussion relative to what is lost by a cloaked identity. When user accounts are deleted, those comments remain for the integrity of the discussion, but the name is changed to “[User profile deleted].”
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We also urge you to take a breath before posting if you’re feeling especially feisty as you click the feedback link. Your comment will be forever associated with your name, and may appear in search results on Google and elsewhere. Especially if your feedback prompts further conversation, we are not inclined to remove it once you’ve posted it. So proceed carefully.
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That means focusing on the substance of arguments as opposed to their presenters. It also means avoiding insults and other forms of ad-hominem comments. We encourage you to make your case as vigorously as possible without being rude.
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