Steven Den Beste learned the hard way what I’ve known all along, which is that comment systems on Web sites generally turn into their own sort of beast rather than following the path that the forum moderator might envision. That’s a good thing in many cases, but when you’re a personal publisher, chances are you’re not interested in creating an online community that’s a cool place for various people to hang out. Indeed, that’s why I’ve never implemented a comments system on this Web site. I love to hear from readers, but I don’t have much interest in creating a forum, per se. So send email.