For better or worse, I have always been a fighter. For the people and principles I care about most, I will go to the mat, and the more unfair a situation becomes, the more energized to set things right I seem to become. I’m one of those cynical idealists who ... more >
We here at Dear Author have always supported anonymity and pseudonymity. We have allowed people to use pennames and alias in the comments even when it meant they would be hurling insults at us, even when they engaged in sock puppetry (by changing their alias but posting from the same IP ... more >
Target Pledges to Price Match Amazon Year-Round – Target is pledging to price match Amazon and other online retailers. The catch is that the product must be exact and because Target sells a lot of private label products, it’s not likely to eat into Target’s profit margin. Plus, Mulpuru pointed ... more >
Despite the regularity and ubiquity with which free speech is invoked in online discussions, it is rarely relevant in the way it is used, as either sword or shield. In the broadest possible sense, our online discussions (at least in the United States) are reflective of the “marketplace of ideas” ... more >
Robin, who cheats on Dear Author by blogging at Access Romance and Romancing the Blog, posted her thoughts about spoilers in reviews. Robin is for it (and I am too) but we both work hard to have spoiler free reviews. It’s often quite hard, particularly when an element of the ... more >
more animals Do you remember the movie "Election," with Reese Witherspoon and Matthew Broderick? In the first scene Mr. McAllister asks his high school class about the difference between ethics and morals. Ironically, of course, the one student who eagerly attempts to answer the question is also the one who ... more >