Vanity

You're right.   I've seen people give deleters the cold shoulder.   It's a pretty effective message to them that people don't want their words expunged.   I don't know about other posters, but some of my posts take a long time to compose and write.   To have them summarily deleted makes me frustrated.

I've NEVER deleted a post on one of my blogs from another blogger.  Even when I find the posts offensive, threatening or contrary to my own beliefs I NEVER use the delete button.   I have deleted some of my posts on another persons blog when I've had time to cool off and realized that I spoke in anger rather than from a point of view.

I won't post on them anymore either.  If I respond to a blogger and that blogger gets deleted, my comment hangs out there and makes no sense.  I can look like an idiot on my own, I don't need a deleted blog to help me along.

I'm done here.  Too bad too because I agree with a lot of ALICENS posts.

 To whom it may concern:  Normally I do not delete comments that are civil, do not imply that I am a communist or something similar, that comply with the rules, do not imply that I am a liar, do not ridicule me for an opinion, etc., etc.  On the other hand, I do delete comments that are not civil, do imply that I am a communist or worse, do not comply with the rules, do imply that I am a liar, do ridicule me for my opinion, etc., etc.  I also delete comments that insult other commenters.  There may be other reasons that prompt deletion; however, the above constitutes the primary body of reasons.  If any comments have been deleted, those are the reasons.

I expect different opinions to appear in comments to my blogs; what I do not expect and will not tolerate are comments implying that my opinions are wrong simply because they differ.  And an opinion is just that:  it need not be "backed up" with forty different links to some research which may also be rejected by someone or anyone.  One of my dictionaries defines an opinion as

"a belief not based on absolute certainty or positive knowledge but on what seems true, valid, or probable to one's own mind; judgment; an evaluation, impression, or estimation ..." 

What I have expressed here are my opinions formed over many years by observing, reading, etc.  I have never professed to have all the answers to any of the subjects about which I write.  I will of course state that my opinions are strong ones. 

If there are commenters who disagree, that is fine.  If the tone of the differing opinion gets to the point where the comments are full of condescension or disdain, that's when my feathers get ruffled and I hit the delete button.  It seems to me that if one's opinion differs so greatly about a subject, why not simply write a blog entry about it and refer to it in a comment?  Comments need not be in attack mode. 

Sometimes my finger hovers over the delete button; then the decision is made simply to leave a comment as it stands.  The words seem to speak loudly for themselves.  

I'm sorry, but there are an awful lot of "I won't tolerate's" in your post and that's just too rigid for me.  While I respect your right to your opinion and your right to post it, I maintain that if I respond to someone on your blog and that persons comment gets deleted, I look like I'm talking to myself (as do others) and your blog becomes confusing and meaningless.

If you delete just because someone calls your opinion into question or because you get your "feathers ruffled" then your denying others the very thing you insist on having yourself..and opinion.

By their very nature, blog are not "play nicey nicey's" and the TBC blog is about the tamest one I've seen.  You can continue to delete, as you have that ability, but you'll find people won't be much interested in sharing opinions with you when they know they could be deleted for not following your narrow set of criteria.  That's a shame too because I usually enjoy, and agree, with most of your posts.  I won't however, post where my comments hang in midair referring to something that is no longer there.  If you're going to delete the offender, you should delete all the responses to it too.

NancyII:  Thanks for your opinion.  I'll keep your suggestions under advisement.  As written previously, comments need not be in attack mode.  They do not need to be snide; they do not need to belittle anyone less accomplished than they; they do not need to be a lot of things. 

As I said to a friend recently with respect to some of the commenters I consider attack dogs, copying Rodney King's plaintive question from -- what?  decades ago? -- "Can't we just get along?"