I'm back to the ethicsfest, where Steve Smith and I met to discuss HBO blog rules with the following regulars at the Fort Ground Grill: Thom George, MamaJD, Dogwalk Musings, Notes On A Napkin, Sweet Herb, MikeK, and Dan of the County. Fort Ground Grill owner Steve Widmyer was invited to sit in, too. Good discussion. The main focus was on the comments section of this blog. Editor Smith said he didn't see a big problem with the comments section now. And didn't want to impose hard and fast rules because he wants to see the community dynamic continue. He said he's never seen a vehicle for community interaction like Huckleberries Online during his 35 years in the news biz. The key, he said, is to maintain civility and passion without personal insults. He indicated that the crackdown on personal insults that began 6 to 8 weeks ago seems to be working fine. I mentioned that I cracked down too hard at first. But have reached a happy middle ground since. I'd appreciate if others who attended the meeting would provide their impressions, too.

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