Yesterday, you (the BSD staff) posted a message clarifying your posting and commenting policy. I'll go out on a limb and guess that reaction to that post by the BSD community has been mixed. However, I wanted to say that I recognize how difficult a job you, the moderators of this site, have in trying to maintain an open and friendly community when emotions are running so high because of IT. The overwhelming majority of the time, I think you have performed that job admirably. I joined BSD shortly after IT because I wanted to be a part of a community that understood what I and other Penn Staters were going through, and I haven't been disappointed. The vast majority of the time, the comments by members of this community have been thoughtful and respectful. And even when they haven't, I've never felt unwelcome here, mainly because I understand that many people have some very strong opinions (and this is the internet after all, so as a rule I never take anything too seriously).

I won't speak for other people, but as far as I am concerned, BSD is the gold standard of sports fan blogs run by people in their moms' basements, and I think that you, the staff, have done an excellent job in trying to balance free speech with a welcoming atmosphere. So thank you. I'm not trying to brown nose here (though I'm sure it might seem that way). I just want you guys to know that your work is appreciated, because sometime it may not seem like it is.

And to the every one of my fellow BSD members, thank you for making this such a great community to be a part of. Even when some of you generate 800+ comment threads full of sarcasm (which I love) and strong opinions (some of which I agree with, some of which I disagree with, and some of which confuse the hell out of me), I still love you for it, because lets face it, without you the internet would be a lot like a normal conversation in real life. And what fun is that?