@1155 Xeni: What do you think? Seriously, I'm asking. I don't know. We don't have a policy for it yet.

OK, here's my take:

Once someone publishes something they should never unpublish it. You can remove links to prevent pagerank support. You can add statements saying "OMG, WTF was I thinking?". But never unpublish.

On the flip side, what should you do when someone wants their comment(s) unpublished? That's harder... especially if they've decided their comment needs a "OMG, WTF..." supplement (they can't edit that comment to add it). I tend to feel that when someone posts on on my blog their words are still theirs, so I'll delete but replace the comment with a "comment removed at the request of the commenter".

Of course, I don't think anyone should try to unpublish anything. It just compromises trust.

Once upon a time I wrote Cory. I don't remember the original topic, but I remember that he had addressed a mistake. He stood up (figuratively) and said "Doh! I screwed up!". I wrote him simply to say "Cool. Nicely done!" My respect for Cory skyrocketed because he pointed to his mistake and said "Hey everyone, ignore my steaming pile of poo over there. I'll try not to do it again". No unpublishing, no vanishing of his error, just an addition to say "my bad".

I think Cory has the right philosophy.

First off, I like the advice from Gracchus. Good policy.

It really disappoints me when blogs remove articles. I do a little blogging. I can be wrong, stupid, taken-in or misinformed at times. When that happens I can always remove the links to someone or something that has turned out to be something I don't want to support. Removing the links will make sure I'm not contributing to their pagerank.

I can add a note along the lines of "Doh! What was I thinking? Feel free to read this article to glimpse a major screw-up on my part, but don't bother otherwise."

But delete it? No. I put it out there for better or worse and will live with that.

Does a blogger have the right to delete their articles if they want? Sure.

Do they lose credibility by doing so? Absolutely. The more trusted the blog, the more they lose.

I'd love to see you put the articles back up, remove the links, and add a note saying that the article does not represent any current support for the person in question.

I really hate that Boing Boing pulled those articles. It's your right. I'm just very disappointed to find your standards aren't what I thought. Boing Boing has a reputation for fighting fearlessly for Good Side. This kind of behavior tarnishes that reputation.

Please, guys, make it right and acknowledge this as a mistake and a lesson learned!

As noted, the source of the information in the graph is based on PRODUCTION and not CONSUMPTION, but...

According to
http://www.pr-inside.com/in-2007-china-s-accounted-total-exports-r641667.htm

China's 2007 exports of cement were only 33.01 million tons out of the 1.3 billion they produced.

They really are consuming that much...

Thermodynamics is thermodynamics

"You keep using that word... I do not think it means what you think it means."

I think he is trying to imply something about entropy being one-way and that the effects of global warming are irreversible. As a physics geek, let me just add that entropy is one-way for CLOSED systems and the Earth isn't one (solar energy inputs), so if that's what he's going for he doesn't understand thermodynamics.

In any case, I believe global warming is a real issue that we need to address. However, it is not the end of the world. Global CO2 levels have been much higher (link) in the past. On the other hand, I've worked in environments where we drove the CO2 levels to 1000ppm: breathing is a bit uncomfortable. :-(

Most excellent work!

It wouldn't be quite as good, but I do believe you could DIY this with a router, some plywood and a steady hand.

Not only that, change the proportions a touch and you have a desk.

Heck, I can see designs for chairs, too. You could make a whole set of collapsible furniture. It'd be great if you need to reconfigure a room periodically or move frequently. Very cool.

I agree with some other comments:

If the school provided the markers AND the school claims that the smell of the markers could cause intoxication in students AND that smelling these markers is punishable by suspension THEN:

The school staff needs to be prosecuted for contributing to the delinquency of a minor and fired.

On the other hand, if the medical experts that say that the markers couldn't do what the principal claims, then the child and family deserve an extremely public apology and the system needs to reprimand the principal for incredibly poor judgement.

Once again, zero tolerance makes zero sense.

Do you have to look any farther than the Boing Boing front page this morning?

What about terrorists spreading contact poisons on door handles? All you need is one of these to protect you!

Then the terrorists could take over over a plane using the "Handler" (looking like a bunch of crazy Captain Hooks?) after which Homeland Security would start confiscating our Handlers and we'd all die from the contact poisons!

It a doomsday scenario, I tell you! Doomsday!!!