In a long and detailed post on his blog, StanG has protested about New Mandala‘s denial of his basic rights. He is complaining that New Mandala has blocked some of his comments.

For the record: we have done a quick search for “StanG” in our comments archive. We have found that since November 2009 there are 177 comments either made by StanG or responding to him. We doubt any other reader features more prominently in recent New Mandala discussion.

Earlier this month StanG was going through a particularly vociferous phase and, in our assessment, dominating much of the discussion. We made a decision, as we occasionally do, to delay and/or block some of his comments in order to provide for a more diverse discussion. This prompted the following email exchange:

StanG: Currently there are three of my comments “awaiting moderation”. Has New Mandala quietly pulled the plug on me?

Nicholas Farrelly (New Mandala): Thanks for your message. We haven’t pulled the plug on you but, like a host at a dinner party or a chairperson at a seminar, we endeavour to avoid one or two voices dominating the discussion. Please let me know if there is anything else I can do to help.

New Mandala is committed to providing a free and open forum for all points of view. We don’t censor those points of view. We do occasionally exercise discretion in approving the comments of those who come to dominate discussion.