This U. K. reader prefers no comments:
I 'm pleased that your blog no longer publishes readers' comments. Since this has been the case, I read it more assiduously. I usually find something in your daily observations and ruminations from which I can profit. When you used to allow even very well informed people to comment on what you had to say, my concentration withered and I was "turned off" by esoteric discussions of technical problems that interest professional philosophers.
I think all serious bloggers should follow your example and exclude not only the vacuous and insolent wreckers who infest blogs, but also the erudite correspondents who can transform such as Maverick Philosopher into a kind of country club for intellectuals.
This U. S. reader prefers comments:
First of all, your blog is much more instructive than most of my formal education. Thank you for that.However, recently you linked to your post on use and mention, and I followed the link and read the discussion. Here is what I notice. The educational value of any of your posts is exponentially compounded when there is a dialectic that follows. The reason this is so is that when I can see someone who disagrees with you I can then see what positions they are forced to take in the dialectic. Also because it highlights the distinction between good reasons and bad reasons for holding a position based on your responses.
To borrow an excellent phrase from the U. K. reader, "the vacuous and insolent wreckers who infest blogs," ought to be banned. They should not be given a forum, and if a blogger does, then he encourages their bad behavior. Trouble is, most commenters are of the vacuous and insolent sort. So the easiest method is to allow no comments. The blogger thereby saves himself a lot of trouble and what might be termed 'spiritual pollution.'
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