Comments are welcome on all entries. Our aim, after all, is to promote a healthy debate.

We do not require registration and we allow anonymous comments, though you’re more than welcome to use your real name if you wish. We would actually prefer that, but we realize that many people have legitimate reasons to use a pseudonym. When commenting, you’ll be asked for an e-mail, which is only used if you want to be kept up to date with other comments on the same post. E-mails for those who comment (and those who “follow” the blog) are never shared.

In a recent post, we supported the decision of a growing numbers of online news outlets to bar anonymous comments but became convinced they were combating a specific problem—a rash of inappropriate comments spewing hatred and obscenities. We don’t have that problem here, and as long as that’s the case, we see no need to bar anonymous comments.

We do monitor comments after they are posted and will delete any that cross the line (we’ll know it if we see it), but so far that hasn’t happened either.