Thanks very much to all those readers who have written in with questions.

A number of people have asked why we ask for questions and not comments on the Ibishblog, a perfectly reasonable and predictable query. I understand that some people really want comments, and for many people, there would be no problem with that. However I have been keeping a close eye on many blogs for many years, and paid attention to the tension between allowing comments and not allowing comments. It strikes me that those sites which are most similar to this one that do not allow comments have it more correct than those that do.

Indeed, I can think of a number of sites that have had to ultimately disable comments entirely in order to continue functioning properly. In every single one of those instances, I think they did the right thing. I also know many sites that function extremely well with comments, and many that absolutely depend on comments for any serious conversation or discussion. I don?t think this is going to be one of those sites.

I?m happy to answer anyone with a serious question, and all questioners will remain anonymous. There are numerous other sites and options available to those who want to take issue with what I have to say here, and they?re most welcome to do that. So, for now, this blog is going to remain structured as it is, with questions, which for the most part will be answered, but no comments.

In reference to another question, we will certainly be adding RSS enabling in the near future. This is definitely coming in the next week or two, at the latest. There will continue to be updates and improvements on this site both in terms of content and in terms of functionality in the coming years.

In the meanwhile, please keep the questions coming ? I will be answering some of the more substantial ones shortly. I appreciate them, and they offer a very good mechanism for exchanging views without the very significant problems that can be attached on sites like this one to open comments sections (or even moderated ones).