seefish3, don't forget to reverse the polarity when you do so.

I have no background in physics and only a passing familiarity with philosophy, so perhaps wiser Neatoramanauts might be able to answer this question:

Does Schrödinger's Cat conflict with the Law of Non-Contradiction?

Welcome back, Ali.

Thanks, Jess. Fixed now.

I've found that I can't sleep well if my wife isn't beside me.

Oops. Fixed now.

Hey JC, you're writing on Neatorama now? That's awesome!

Thanks, Tim. You're a good fella.

Valid point or not, Tim, cuss me out and get deleted.

Cute! Good find, Miss C.

A few questions, Tim:

Would you go into a place of business, let's say a retail outlet, and cuss out the workers or customers?

If you did, what would you expect to happen as a result?

Would you cuss out co-workers or family members?

If you did, what would you expect to happen as a result?

In either case, would you expect that "free speech" would be accepted as justification for doing so?

I agree that comments should be deleted only very sparingly, and for the reasons that you mention. But I also think that Neatorama is marketed as a place to relax and find neat things for amusement. A hostile environment isn't good for business, and I know that some people don't read the comments and participate in the conversations therein because of that hostile environment. As you suggest "treat visitors like crap" and they'll leave and not return. You cussed out another reader. Will that make him more likely or less likely to return?

Alex leaves it up to individual authors to decide how to moderate their own threads. I'd like to find a middle ground where people can express themselves freely, but not verbally abuse others. And for myself, getting cussed out and/or insulted by customers is not in my job description. That's why your "blow me John" and "your shitty blog" etc. comments got delted.

I know that it's not fun to get a comment deleted, and I don't want to hurt your feelings or make you feel unwelcome. But I do want to create and work in an environment that is free from abuse.

Can you understand my point of view?

Tim, it's good that you can express your opinions strongly, but I'd appreciate it if you'd cut back on the foul language.

It looks absolutely yummy.

Oops.

clock radios

Fixed now.