Let me offer a quick clarification on policy and procedure here on the blog.
For most posts, I turn comments on. I enjoy discussion. You’re welcome to express your opinion and disagree. But it’s my house. If you’re being uncivil to me or the other people here, I may warn you, or simply kick you out.
When new users post a comment, the system holds it in moderation until Matt or I have a chance to review it. This helps cut down on spammers and scammers.
There is also an automated spam detection system (Akismet), which will occasionally flag a valid comment as spam — particularly if there are more than two links embedded in it. If your comment hasn’t shown up for 24 hours, send us an email and we’ll check for it.
When necessary, I delete comments. Here’s a guide for making sure your comment doesn’t get deleted:
1. Stay pretty much on topic.
2. Don’t link to your own sites, except in the URL spot.
3. Be polite. Don’t say anything you wouldn’t say in my living room.
When a comment violates any of these three points, I’ll happily delete it. It’s one click for me. So keep that in mind before you spend 10 minutes writing something that won’t show up.
These are all fairly standard [Living Room Rules](http://redcouch.typepad.com/weblog/2006/10/living_room_com.html), but some people seem unfamiliar with them, so I thought it would be better to state them explicitly.