Arthur Silber's just posted that he'll be making some changes at his outstanding blog, The Light of Reason. Eliminating comments, more of an emphasis on aesthetics, ditching Objectivism in favor of the Russian Orthodox Church, and, most significantly I think, this:
"And much less writing about gay issues. The internet seems to do strange things to people, and to their sense of manners, to say nothing of basic decency (in addition to which, our culture in general puts very little premium on manners these days). Whenever I write about gay issues, and especially about very personal aspects of them, some people seem to feel that they can say pretty much whatever the hell they want to me, speculate groundlessly about my psychology, and generally tramp around in my soul. Well, no more of that here."
I cannot say that I approve. I'm not much interested in gay issues, so I don't do much reading in that area--but I always thought Arthur approached the subject in a thoughtful, insightful manner. I don't mean to imply that he is capable of insights in that subject (or any other) simply because he himself is gay, but rather, that he approached the subject not just as a gay man, but as a defender of reason and individual rights. Because of this, I learned a few things and had to rethink a few things, and I'm glad. And now he proposes to do less of it, and it's the blogosphere's loss, and mine.
Just kidding about the Russian Orthodox Church.