Blog Rules

I hope that this blog can remain un-moderated. You are welcome to be as controversial as you want, including criticising me, but please glance at the following points before posting.

Bad Language:
I have installed filters to deal with this. If you use what my old headmaster called a ‘sexual adjective’, even in a disguised form, your comment is likely to get deleted before even I have seen it, however brilliant it might be in other respects.

Politics:
It certainly isn’t possible to discuss climate, the countryside and landscapes without straying into this minefield, although I wish that this was not so. Please try to be reasonably moderate in your utterances and avoid party politics altogether. There are plenty of other blogs that deal with such matters.

Religion:
This is an even more difficult area. Several commentators have explored the link between certain types of extreme environmentalism and religious fervour, so the subject is unavoidable. It is perfectly acceptable to suggest that there are very real dangers if quasi-religious convictions spill over into the fact-based world of science. Disparaging remarks about other faiths, comments that are based on religious intolerance, or even attempts to proselytise for your own particular persuasion, will not be welcome. Any comment that is likely to offend sincerely held religious beliefs will be deleted.

Ad Hominem attacks:
It is fine to say that you disagree with Prof. Hotwind, and even that in your opinion his general attitude and demeanour leads you to distrust his opinions. It is also acceptable to say that he has taken a few short cuts on the way to reaching his conclusions if, and only if, you can back this up with some credible evidence. But if you accuse him of being a serial adulterer who kicks dogs, your comment will be snipped. There are probably quite a few researchers with these failings who have made perfectly creditable contributions to science.

Nov 2007