Even before I took my extended leave from the forum, I noticed from time to time that there were some folks who were quite rude to others here. At the time, I didn't want to say anything -- I have a hard time confronting people -- and I just let it slide. While I was away, I received a number of emails telling me about further rudeness in posts here. And I have seen some myself since coming back.

This is unacceptable. I know there are times when all of us say something that could be taken as being less than kind, with no malice intended. But there are other comments that cannot be interpreted any other way.

I'm going to start editing posts with anything I find offensive in them. I have only used my position as moderator a few times in the past, and only when I felt it was extremely necessary. But I'm going to expand my usage of my privilege as moderator to try to keep the forum as civil as it can be.

This is not to say that I insist on everyone being "nicey-nice." Just don't be mean to anyone. As my mother told me when I was a little kid, "If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all." If you want to make a comment about what you think about the person, say it out loud to your computer screen. But you don't need to write it in a post.

I am going to lock this thread as soon as it's posted, because I don't want discussion on this topic. I just wanted to let people know ahead of time what I was going to do.

I also want to apologize personally to those who were offended by the remarks of others in the past. I ought to have done this sooner.



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JPD