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I am very lenient with my comment policy. I want engagement and connections on this site, so I don't limit folks – I don't make you register or sign up for anything to post a comment and comments are "do follow" so, if you have your own site, you get a valuable back link from my site to yours. This helps YOU get better results at Google, Yahoo, Bing, and Ask (and most other search engines).

In short, I want you to comment here because it's good for me and it's good for you.

HOWEVER, recently, there have been some folks commenting here who are very judgmental, derogatory, or just downright ugly and mean.

I have chosen to refrain – for the most part – from censuring the comments made here. As long as they don't end up as SPAM, I let them fly.

Recent activity has made me rethink this policy. Before I change anything, I'm going to ask you to really think about your motivations when you comment here.

• If your goal is to add to the discussion, then you're gold
• If your aim is to belittle others or make snide comments that would make your mother cringe, then you're out

I will not only trash your comments, but I will also mark them as SPAM. This has seriously negative effects on you. A word of warning: Once your IP and/or email address are marked as SPAM within Akismet, you're going to have a difficult time making an ass of yourself on other sites.

Consider my marking you as a SPAMMER a favor I'm doing you.

After all, one of these days, one of the folks you disparage or belittle may just kick your ass.

So cut the bullshit and make intelligent comments on MY blog. This isn't your site. You are a visitor here. If you shit on my sofa, I'm going to rub your face in it, make you clean it up, kick your ass out, and make you suffer.

Or, put another way -

If you don't have anything nice to say, keep your mouth shut, just like your Momma taught you.

Or somebody will shut it for you.

As you may know, I have set up this site (in fact, all of my sites) as “do follow” because I want to encourage active commenting. It is my belief that doing so will foster an atmosphere of caring and sharing and that this will benefit all of us who come here.

Lately, people have been trying to exploit the system by leaving comments like “Hi.”

Take a little bit more time and add to that please! If you’re going to make the effort and take the time to register, type the comment, and click submit, why not make the comment relevant to the post? Seriously, it takes, what, 30 seconds to make an intelligent comment?

If you make a comment like “Hi” you’ve wasted your time because I will not only remove it, but I will also mark it as SPAM, which will only serve to hamper your commenting abilities on other blogs.

Here’s an excerpt from my newly-updated “Do Follow” page:

Finally, if you make a comment like “Hi” or “Thanks” I will most likely purge it from the system. Let’s work on making this a community where each of us contributes. I do my part by making posts and pages and by responding to comments; can you do your part by making intelligent comments?

I don’t mean to be  a jerk about this. But you have to remember, this is my blog and I put a lot of effort into it. You could return the courtesy by putting a little effort into it.

I certainly hope this is the last time I have to write about this topic, but I am skeptical; there will always be people who want to take and never give anything.

But you’re not like that, right?