Rules

I do like clearly and concisely expressed views and am often as outspoken as politeness allows (apologies, if I sometimes seem to be less than polite). I hope that commentators will do the same, no matter whether they agree or disagree with me. However, hope that we all try our best to observe a minimum of courtesy towards each other.

14 fairly simple rules should be observed when commenting on my blog.

1. All posts should be in understandable English; with rare exceptions, I will not post comments that I find incomprehensible.
2. Libelous statements will not be posted.
3. Personal insults will not be posted and trolls will be banned.
4. People who keep insulting others will be banned.
5. Comments must be on-topic.
6. Nothing published here must be taken as medical advice.
7. All my statements are comments in a legal sense.
8. Conflicts of interest should always be disclosed.
9. I will stop discussions on any particular topic if I feel that enough has been said and things are getting boring or repetitive.
10. I will limit the contributions to wafflers (discussants who have little to say but say it continuously) to 10/post.
11. I will not post comments which are overtly nonsensical or untrue.
12. I will prevent commentators from monopolizing the discussion.
13. Commentators should use only one name or identifier.
14. Commentators can use names other than their own.
15. I will not normally enter into discussions with people who do not disclose their full identities.

Please do let me know if you feel that I or someone else has broken any of these rules.

I often use slightly edited abstracts of published papers I discuss as the basis of my posts. These are not necessarily exact quotes; when I do quote, I usually employ italics to make it clear.