Editor's note: Regarding letters to yours truly

I’ve long suspected letters to the editor are one of the best-read parts of a newspaper. I don’t have reader surveys to back that up, but it just makes sense, especially in a small community such as ours where there’s a decent chance you’ll know the writer.

That’s why it’s a shame that so many of them are unprintable.

There’s a box elsewhere on this page bearing the title, “We welcome your views*.” That asterisk then unfolds into a list of conditions.

Some of those rules, such as a prohibition on poetry and overt advertising, are designed to keep the opinion page a discussion of issues. The Triplicate’s 400-word maximum is one of the longest leashes you’ll find in a newspaper, and if a letter deserves to go even longer, it can be converted into an installment of the occasional Coastal Voices on the same page. Simple civility is the reason behind the rule against personal attacks on private citizens.

There’s also an unwritten policy I inherited from my predecessor: We generally run just one letter every  month or so per writer, with the main exception being if that writer feels moved to respond after his or her initial letter gets critiqued by other letter writers. I’ve been known to bend this 30-day rule, either on purpose or by accident, but the general idea is that we want to present a variety of voices, not just those of the prolific few.

Can the letters to the editor still constitute a viable, compelling public forum with all these rules? Absolutely. While some letters are basically community bulletin board items — thanking volunteers after a successful event, for instance — you can and hopefully will opine about the most controversial issues swirling around Del Norte County and get your letter printed.

Decide at the front end whether you’re really looking to write a letter stating your opinion or if you’re basically passing along news tips.

Maybe you know there’s more to a story than has been printed in the news pages. If your version of “the rest of the story” contains unverified facts that are potentially damaging to an individual or organization, they aren’t going straight into print. If they’re important enough, I’ll assign a reporter to check them out. That can’t happen every time because the staff is small and always wrestling with the load of the next five or 10 stories to be reported and written.

While it’s your name on the letter, if we choose to print it, we are responsible for its contents. So if you’re itching to sound off about, say, a recent jury verdict or judge’s ruling, it might be a good idea to leave out allegations of past transgressions that would have to be verified or that have no direct bearing on a story’s latest developments.

The question I often face is whether to remove the aforementioned unverified facts, personal attacks on private citizens, etc., and still print the rest of the letter, or just not use it at all. Its author might well be unhappy either way.

Remember that another part of that information box states that “we retain the right to edit all letters.” Sometimes it’s a close call, and if I do choose to edit and print, it’s my job to preserve the spirit of the letter and not change its meaning.

Overall, the letter policy calls for “a public forum for local issues.” I’ve got no problem enlarging the forum to include local views on national or international issues. But I want to read your views, not a form letter you’ve put your name to or a cut-and-paste from the Internet.

I’ve even had elected officials submit letters or opinion pieces that they’ve signed, even though they weren’t the authors. This isn’t done maliciously, but it does make you wonder if they’re familiar with the concept of plagiarism.

Follow the rules and tell me what you think, and your letter will almost certainly be printed. If possible, email it to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it This saves the time of re-keyboarding, and makes it easier to respond when necessary.