All In Moderation

[EDIT - 05/09: I've turned off comment moderation, requiring only the word verification. I still get an email when comments are left, so reason #1 below still holds. #2 does as well, so if I end up getting spam comments I will turn moderation back on. We'll see how it goes!]

As I begin to get more comments (thank you thank you!), a question comes up that I suppose deserves to be addressed by way of a policy.

Should I moderate comments?

I do for 2 reasons:

1) I want you to know that I read every comment. Moderating them means that when you see your comment show up, I've read it. I've paid attention to what you've said. Often, I've already left a reply somewhere on your blog or in your inbox. I created this blog to communicate with people passionate about creativity. I want comments to encourage connection. I moderate to let you know I listen.

2) That said, I also want to maintain this blog's quality of communication. That includes the comment section. I don't like the idea of having inappropriate comments that I have to remove, leaving a "This post has been removed by a blog administrator" message. I'm talking about spam with crazy links as well as socially offensive or personal messages. Fortunately, I haven't had any yet, but prevention seems the way to go.

So please don't take the fact that I moderate to mean I'll discard critical or argumentative posts. In fact, those are what I like the most. They provide an opportunity for increased understanding and awareness, and show you care enough to voice your opinion.

Peace.