…know me. They will judge me according to context.

…are smart. They will not be misled by some stray comment I may happen to make.

…are kind. They make allowances and forgive me ahead of time.

In return:

I will speak my mind about what I care about.

I will not revise too much or too carefully: Blogging about opera is still jazz.

I will not anticipate and reply to every objection: Punctilliousness in pursuit of the appearance of propriety kills voice.

If I apologize, it will be because I have actually betrayed my readers’ trust, not because I may have, might have, or could be misread as having done so.

I pledge to keep the reading of my weblog purely optional.