Ctrl+Alt+Del

Trying to avoid affecting a James Brown impression, Joe and I will give Blog-Lebo another go. We believe that last week's storm clouds have passed. There were good reasons to suspend the blog; as several commenters noted, there was more to the story than reacting to a nastygram. But many commenters and neighbors have made a persuasive case to us that there are more good reasons to continue.

We will implement some changes, some now and some later. Right now and most important, anonymous comments will not be permitted. The role of anonymity on the blog is an issue that we've discussed both on the blog and privately, and we've finally concluded that we're willing to risk the likely loss of commentary that follows from expecting commenters to identify themselves. Pseudonymous comments will be permitted only if there is a basis for identifying the commenter. I'm fully aware that people can make up names and impersonate others, and that the rule isn't perfect. I'm counting on good behavior on the part of most people. Joe and I will deal with the rest, but we hope that there will be relatively few of those.

The chief reason for the switch is to shift the burden of policing good behavior from us (where it lies when anonymous comments are OK) to you (where it lies when anonymous comments are not OK). An identity requirement will, we hope, encourage you to help us maintain a civil tone on the blog.

There is a also a substantive reason for the switch. I understand the fear that drives many people to post anonymously -- fear of teachers, fear of coaches, fear of neighbors, fear of municipal officials, fear of assessors. Almost everyone is afraid of something or someone, and every person needs to calculate their own personal risk equation. But anonymous comments pay a price in persuasiveness. Using your own name buys you credibility - and solidarity. After last week's episode, there was a minor "I am Spartacus" effect, as bloggers both near (Rich and Chris in Pittsburgh) and far (Jeff in Seattle, Jim in Colorado) blogged and linked in sympathy. Thanks to everyone who commented and expressed support for the blog! I didn't realize that the blog had such a wide national constituency. I could thank more of you, but I don't know who you are. Hopefully, as the blog reboots, I will.

Also, I should note that at least one other Lebo resident picked up the proverbial blogging gauntlet. (At least I assume that the author is a Lebo resident.) Welcome to the blogosphere to the Mt. Lebanon blog, at http://mtlebo.net/.