Letters to the Editor
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Metaethics
I propose another addition to the letter writing process: that prospective letter-writers read and agree to a clause prohibiting the most obvious of mistakes in argumentation. The new policy refusing to post anonymous letters has helped, but it hasn't prevented some of the really grating behavior.
The quality of a letter-writer's argument has an inverse relationship to the frequency of the following: 1) patronizing use of the author's name; 2) personal attacks; 3) hollow sarcasm; 4) oversimplification of complex issues; etc.
If you are about to submit a post and it looks like this, "Hey, JOAN, I think what you wrote is stupid, and frankly, JOAN, it's pretty obvious to me that this whole complex question of electoral politics can be boiled down to a single freaking cause for which I offer little evidence. If you can't see THAT, JOAN, then how do you expect me to take you seriously?!" then please reconsider posting.
With a little effort, we can raise the bar on public discourse.