My Comments Policy

An ode to arguing with strangers on the internets.

I got a message from a reader asking why I rarely respond to comments. Apparently I do not even engage in the practice of ‘liking’ comments on my pieces. The horror. It must be very hard for all of you having to carry this burden. I had no idea.

My long time readers will know my stance on comments, but for the sake of the new crowd let me just state it here for the record. My comment is my article. If you write a comment stating that you disagree with my article, hooray for you. My article is my response. I leave the other readers to make up their minds on who is more aligned with the truth.

If you write a comment stating that you agree with my article, great. But once again, my article is my comment so nothing to see here. We’re on the same page. If you write something that is egregiously stupid then I leave it up to other commenters to point out the stupidity on display. Very occasionally I will do this myself, but I try not to.

If you want to try and be my new best buddy through the comments section, sorry but I’m not on the lookout for new best buddies. I can count my best buddies on one hand and that is more than enough for me. I’m just not hiring.

I spent years arguing with strangers on the internet. Years. If I could go back in time I would spend that time on more constructive activities. Or at the very least, more enjoyable ones. But I have learned my lesson in that regard, so getting into protracted arguments with people who are either acting in bad faith or simply don’t know how to read does not interest me in the slightest.

You all have a nice day now.