My sincere thanks to Maurice Black for upgrading this site to Movable Type 2.64. This version of Movable Type allows much greater control over comment threads than Movable Type 2.51; specifically, it enables me to close a thread without deleting it in its entirety. With Movable Type 2.51, disabling comments on a post with an active discussion thread deletes all posts on that thread. I did not want to delete any readers' posts, but at the same time, for reasons that will be obvious to regular readers of this site, I do want to disable comments for the indefinite future. Readers will note that they can no longer post comments on recent posts; they will also note that the discussion threads on those posts remain unedited and intact. I have not deleted or otherwise altered any of the comments that led to my decision--they remain as they are, for readers to make of what they will.

I'm very sad to see Critical Mass' comments section go, but in recent weeks the general tone and tenor of the comments has devolved so badly that I just didn't have much choice. Trolling behavior of various kinds has displaced the energetic and thoughtful exchange of ideas that originally characterized the comments section on Critical Mass; the reasoned and respectful debate that I had hoped to host on this site has gradually been drowned out and diverted by a few inexplicably hostile and embittered readers who have made a game out of trying to discredit this site.

I've been writing this blog almost daily for over a year. During that time, I've posted close to half a million words. Critical Mass has been a labor of love for me; I've paid for it out of pocket, and I've devoted countless hours of time and care to it. It's a project to which I am deeply committed, for both broad philosophical reasons and deeply personal ones. I'm not prepared to see the site damaged any further by the sniping activities of readers who use the comments section to act out their personal vendettas.

The vast majority of posters on Critical Mass have not been of this sort. They have been careful with their facts and respectful in their mode of argument; they have been receptive to differences of opinion and perceptive about the issues at hand; they have taught me and one another; they have been a constant source of inspiration. You guys know who you are: I've valued your contributions enormously, and am terribly sorry that the vital intellectual community you have been building has been so thoroughly soured by so few (you few, you too know who you are). I hope that at some future point, it will be possible to re-enable comments on Critical Mass. In the meantime, I'll post letters from readers who care to write.