The removal of the AnyMouse thread is the result of an exchange I had with Dave yesterday. Simply put, as much as I love HBO -- and I do -- the animus, outright venom and over-the-line personal trash talk displayed in that thread went over the line. I have asked Dave to think about clarifying standards of conduct on the blog. As independent as HBO is, it is still part of the SR, an important part. At the SR, we believe in a free marketplace of ideas. Except for overt hate speech and libel, all views can be expressed on our blogs and in our pages. Every correspondent is due some respect, especially from those who disagree. Keep in mind the only way we solve problems in our society is to reconcile conflicting values. That can't happen when a forum for the exchange of ideas becomes a one-note preserve -- Steve Smith/Spokesman-Review.

Full thread here

DFO: It's not even 8:30, and I've been to the wood shed already. I killed the entire Any Mouse thread last night after I read the whole thing. I didn't realize how vicious it'd become. Nor how many attempts were made to reveal the individual behind the pseudonym. I caught a couple of those posts earlier yesterday. I don't know exactly how to respond to the rules portion of Steve's note. Huckleberries Online is an open forum with few rules that welcomes impassioned debate -- and even toe-to-toe debate. Marquess of Queensberry rules don't work here. They produce dull sections like letters to the editor pages. Or blogs that don't have much traffic. I don't want to reprise my role as a hall monitor. But I'll watch the comments section more closely for name-calling and attempts to out individuals.

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