I asked; you delivered.
Well, at least some of you.
In my Monday Letter From the Editor, my weekly print column, I once again lamented the state of online commentary, and called for a new civility in our online conversations.
Yes, that means all of you who troll our DelcoTimes.com website, or zing us on Twitter and Facebook.
I actually enjoy the give and take, but I urged those taking part to keep it above the belt. Too often what I see online quickly descends into partisan drivel. What's even worse is the racial invective that is so casually tossed about online.
It did not take long for me to see results.
Actually, I probably should have mentioned this earlier.
There is a group that is pushing their message online - and doing so in a most reasonable manner.
Those who for months now have opposed Sunoco's Mariner East 2 pipeline have certainly raised their voices again and again to protest the project and question the wisdom of putting this pipeline in densely populated areas and within a couple of hundreds feet of elementary schools such as Glenwood Elementary in Middletown.
In general, I have agreed with them.
But I also have indicated I do not think any of these issues is likely to stop the project, which actually is now on hold after the state Department of Environmental Protection halted all construction on the pipeline across the state because of persistent problems.
I think those issues will be resolved. And I think this project is going to be completed.
That does not mean I do not understand the issues being raised by those who oppose it. I certainly would not want it running through my back yard.
They have disagreed with me, but we've had a rational conversation about the project. I actually think some of them have been surprised to see me respond directly to them on Facebook, where they have their own community opposed to the pipeline.
Of couse, that was before they saw today's front page, which leads with a new report - paid for by Sunoco - touting the economic benefits of Mariner East 2, something they have been casting doubt on now for years.
And so the debate will rage on.
That's as it should be.
We can have rational conversations that don't descend into ugly partisanship, name-calling and vulgar depictions.
And the opponents of the pipeline project are proof of it.
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