Comments policy revisited

On a side note, the comments policy of this blog is in place due to the unique distributed nature of our production team, and is exceptionally limited given the extraordinary but required constraints under which this effort is conducted. We are, as we always maintain, by no means acting in any official capacity in this blog. Who we are and what we do simply does not matter – we rely upon the force of our arguments and the persuasiveness of our writing to carry this effort, not any appeals to authority or the community’s enterprise experience. For those familiar with the substantive matters we raise, this is (or should be) more than enough for the purposes of this informal virtual conversation on matters of theory and academics.

Our opinions and statements do not reflect the position of any agency, organization, entity, or structure – and will never discuss any matters which would raise classification, operational security or other related concerns. And while we are never responsible for what any commentator might post on this blog, we simply cannot at the present time assume the burden of moderating a comments system in light of those restrictions – particularly as one may note that this blog may from time to time go dormant as other priorities for one or more of the authors take precedence over this effort. We have happily thus far found that a robust discussion is still possible given such necessary limitations, thanks to the continuing interest of others in the blogsphere.

While we have received criticism from others regarding this policy since the inception of the blog, we note firstly that this is a not a financially motivated venture for any of us, nor is it a democratic enterprise in which others may directly vote as to its conduct. (Indirect feedback through the marketplace of ideas and the attention economy is vote enough, we should think.)

This effort is rather a specific and narrowly tailored attempt to pursue a muse, and in so doing to hopefully inspire those among the community of interest to new approaches and new ideas. We have gratefully noted that interest in the subject remains high, and that many of the ideas floated here (and elsewhere in the growing related conversation) have begun to find manifestation in the community – and for this reason alone we will continue our humble attempts at advancing this conversation for as long as circumstances permit.

And perhaps someday, once the Long War is won - and like the Cold War relegated to the dustbin of history, and the life of academic ease or some other intellectual patron's grace is even an option for some old operators and analysts - we may be able to engage more fully and openly. To borrow the oft-quoted wish: faster, please.