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The comments on The DM Online hardly cease to amaze me anymore. When I was first hired as online editor and re-enabled the comment system, I was shocked at the sheer volume of online comments we received. You see, every time someone comments on anything on the site, I get an email. And back then, I was getting at least, and by at least I mean at the very, very least, 65 comment emails a day. I would read through them pretty generally if I had the time, but, for the most part, the comments went unchecked.

After a few weeks of "The DM SUX!!1!" and "This writer is a fool and a slut!" though, it was obvious that something had to be done. And what we did was install a comment policy. Based on the Washington Post's online comment policy, we changed the language and the terms of the statement to fit our needs as a college daily. And while it may get a little wordy, the comment policy basically says this: Don't defame anyone, don't use inappropriate language and leave your first name and your last initial. Should be easy, right? Wrong.

The daily number of comment emails dropped significantly when I started moderating them. From an unchecked 65 to 100 comments a day, we now get about 20. And do you know how many of those survive the Great Comment Purge As According to the Comment Policy? Maybe 6. On a good day.

Most people's comments get deleted because they simply don't put a last initial with their name. I know it may seem trivial and silly to delete comments, even if they're perfectly acceptable by all other standards, simply because they're missing a single letter, but the letter is not the point. The point is that the commenter didn't take the time to read the shortened, bolded version of the policy that's on literally every article page, much less the full version. And for not paying attention, delete.

There are other instances where I will delete a comment as well. Calling someone an idiot on the site isn't cool: delete. Something like "ok" or "sux" as your only comment: purge. Racial slurs, sexist comments, "The South will rise again," etc.: peace out. Typing in all caps: buh-bye.

A few things that don't get deleted (if they follow the policy), though, are bad mouthing The DM when it's merited or telling us we're wrong about something. I never delete a comment simply because I don't like what it says, because if I did, we might have two comments a day. If I was feeling nice that day. (And I'm hardly ever feeling nice.)

Reading your comments every day, I often chuckle and show other editors around the office how, well, silly a lot of them are. Some are sensible and well written, and some even contain an actual point, but most of the time the commenters think they're calling Meghan Blalock a bitch for the first time or informing Alex McAdams she doesn't know anything about music as if a light bulb will click on and she'll come to her senses and quit. Or they think their comment telling us that we're totally wrong about something on the opinion page will cause us to realize the error of our ways and track down all 15,000 copies of The DM from that day and burn them.

Everything we do is planned in some way or another. We know what columns and stories we're going to run several days in advance, and even if we decide to run something on the fly, it still goes through at least five editors. And, sure, mistakes get through sometimes. After all, you can't pick up a single newspaper or magazine in the world and find it without a mistake, usually even on the front page. That's what happens when humans run everything.

So, I guess what I'm trying to say is that if you just want to tell us we suck and you can't back it up with why, don't waste your time. And if you think posting on every edition of a "controversial" column or story that it's stupid is going to make us stop publishing it, you might as well leave the site. Because I'm always there, lurking in the background, hoping you didn't read the policy or that you don't really have anything to say. And it gives me great pleasure to check that little check box and press 'Delete.' (No, seriously, I get warm fuzzies when I do it.)

However, if you have something real to say, please comment. And if you took the time and put a little thought into your paragraph, I assure you we would take it seriously and I would be delighted. In fact, I might even print it out and hang it in the office. We love when intelligent people write in and give us a grounded opinion, and it's those opinions we actually consider when making editorial choices later.

But above all things, be sure to remember this: leave your last initial. Because if you don't, I will be there, purging without a second thought. And if you do, I, as well as The DM Online readers, will actually have to consider your thought. And after all, isn't that what commenting is all about?