I have a simple solution that will negate any need for banning words at OpEd News.

If everyone who contributes to OpEd, either articles, or comments, voluntarily stops using purposefully inflammatory, ad hominem diatribe, then there will be no reason to make any rules whatsoever about language use.

In case you haven’t noticed, articles that use respectful language, and make points without ad hominem attacks, get more readers and garner better responses. You’ll get your point across to more people with more impact.

Republicans stoop to using inflammatory labels whenever they can (Islamofascist, Femi-Nazis, etc). I would hope that liberals, progressives, and even anarchists, can do better than that. The Republican discourse bar is not set very high.

Don’t tone down your anger, your points, or your frustration, but please try not to call people names, or use broad-brush labels that are meant to hurt people’s feelings. It won’t help your argument, and it won’t advance the discussion.

PS, These common sense rules of comity and civil discourse don’t apply to writing about Dick Cheney, who you are allowed to call anything you want (note for the humor impaired… that is meant to be a joke).