Dead Wild Roses welcomes disagreement. It does not require agreement, flattery, credential worship, or ritual throat-clearing before an argument may be made.

A few suggestions before jumping in:

  1. Read what was actually written.
    Respond to the argument on the page, not the argument you expected to find.
  2. Argue with the position, not the person.
    Motives are easy to invent and hard to prove. Deal with claims, evidence, reasoning, and consequences.
  3. Be charitable, but not gullible.
    Assume enough good faith to make conversation possible. Do not assume so much that bad arguments become immune from criticism.
  4. Bring evidence when making factual claims.
    Links help. So does precision. “Everyone knows” is not a source.
  5. Disagreement is not harm.
    Strong disagreement, blunt criticism, and uncomfortable questions are allowed here. Abuse, spam, derailment, and repetitive slogan-dumping may not be.
  6. Invective is seasoning, not dinner.
    A sharp line can be useful. A comment made entirely of sneering usually isn’t.
  7. Stay near the topic.
    Interesting detours happen. Endless hobby-horse riding gets tiresome.
  8. Do not mistake moderation for a public utility.
    This is a personal blog, not a government service, university seminar room, or therapeutic commons. Comments may be edited, ignored, mocked, approved, or deleted at the discretion of The Arbourist.

Comment well. Disagree honestly. Bring an argument worth answering.

—The Arbourist