Important note about the Palmer Report comment section

The Palmer Report comment section has long been a place for readers to share their thoughts on the topics being discussed in the articles. We encourage lively discussion, so long as everyone behaves appropriately.

Occasionally a commenter will refuse to follow the rules or behave in a way that’s inappropriate, will get warned about it, will continue behaving that way, and will end up getting banned. Recently I reluctantly banned one commenter because most of his comments were wildly off topic (remember, this is a comment section to discuss the theme of the article the comments are attached to, not a general user forum) and because I felt he was being inappropriate toward one of our writers. This was my decision, no one else’s. After the commenter complained about getting banned, I offered to let him come back if he agreed to keep his comments on topic and agreed to stop harassing our writers. He flatly declined my offer.

I know that some of our other commenters liked this particular commenter and were disappointed with what transpired. That’s understandable. But it’s also not an excuse for any other commenters to behave inappropriately. I’ve noticed a spike in harassing behavior toward multiple Palmer Report writers today in the comment section, and I will not allow it. I don’t want to have to keep banning people, but I will if necessary. I don’t want to have to get rid of the comment section entirely, but again, I will if necessary. I care very much about the Palmer Report community, but I don’t have time for nonsense.

Let’s all just behave in a civil manner. Please keep your comments on the topic of the article. No personal attacks against my writers. No meltdowns about a minor typo. Just behave like decent humans. I know that most of you already do. But I wanted to make my position abundantly clear so that anyone who’s looking to avoid getting banned has the opportunity to avoid getting banned. Thank you. We’re in this fight together.

Sincerely,
Bill Palmer
Palmer Report