A Comment on Comments

Orin Kerr offers some sage advice that is worth repeating in full:

Do you occassionally think that a VC blogger has missed the boat? Do you sometimes feel that a post is based on a factual error or a misreading of the law, and has therefore reached a wrong conclusion? Do you want to leave a comment explaining the error?

If so, here’s a bit of advice: When you write your comment, assume that the blogger has made an inadvertent error and would very much appreciate your correction. Don’t assume that the blogger is intentionally trying to mislead people. Don’t assume that you are bravely speaking truth to power, exposing the lies of corrupt wrongdoers. Instead, think of us VC bloggers as busy people with a wide range of interests who do their best but are only human and occasionally make mistakes. Then write your comment as a friendly suggestion that will help everyone benefit from your your expertise or knowledge (or just good googling skills). Your comment will be more appreciated, more carefully considered, and more effective.

Unless one has repeated evidence to the contrary, that applies equally well to non-VC bloggers, journalists, politicians, and just about everyone else.

Note: The article truncated at the title originally, even though the content accompanied it in the editing window.

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James Joyner
About James Joyner
James Joyner is Professor and Department Head of Security Studies at Marine Corps University's Command and Staff College. He's a former Army officer and Desert Storm veteran. Views expressed here are his own. Follow James on Twitter @DrJJoyner.

Comments

  1. Fred says:

    I don’t disagree with a single word you said

  2. jpe says:

    Good as a general rule – the exception is the instance of the lame meme. People who fall prey to these things deserve to have scorned heaped upon them. I take it that this exception swallows the rule vis-a-vis politicians, and many pundits.

  3. G A PHILLIPS says:

    I don’t understand a single word you said.