from Ian McEwan's lips to ...

Ian McEwan (Amsterdam, Saturday, Atonement) in a New Republic interview, about why he doesn't read bloggers' reviews of his novels: 

"It seems that when people know they can't be held accountable, when they don't have eye contact, it seems to bring out a rather nasty, truculent, aggressive edge that I think slightly doesn't belong in the world of book reviewing."

In your blog posts here, be accountable. Don't be nasty and truculent. Don't smear individuals without any justification. It can't just be "X is crap." It has to be "X doesn't attain what the scene or play is trying to attain — and here's why, and here's how it might be done better." Otherwise, you're demeaning the conversation.