New comments ethic at L.A. Observed

Stand behind your words, stay on topic and don't be abusive. As the note says on the new comments window, this is not a bulletin board. Signed, and I hope thoughtful, replies to the posts are welcome.

Many of the biggest and most-visited blogs, from Romenesko to Instapundit to LA Examiner, don't let visitors write any comments directly to the site. I do for now, and will try this small refinement to the experiment for awhile. It's the first tweak since L.A. Observed began in May.

It's on the honor system, with the twist that comments that abuse this ethic may be summarily deleted. Real names are preferred, but it can be your website or a nickname as long as there's a real email or web address behind it. Am I going to check the email? Not likely, unless there's some reason to do so. If anyone has a (to me) good reason for not putting any name on their comments, talk to me. Maybe it works to register your name with me or something. I'm sure there will be wrinkles that come up.