Time for a change.........

Right from the start of Muck&Brass, I've taken responsibility for the blog by publishing it under my real name. I always felt that it was a responsible position to take as it made me accountable for what I wrote. It acted a brake in some circumstances when it caused me to consider what I was writing before I published it. But it remains the responsible position to take and I've decided to extend that responsibility to contributors.

It may seem contradictory to some but this blog isn't the place to criticise Somerton's Town Council. That might have been the case 15 months ago but it isn't the case today. The Council today has something of an 'open door' policy and you can take comments to the Council without running the risk of being abused for your trouble. Today's Council acts as Somerton's Town Council and there is a reciprocal responsibility where the community of Somerton needs to work with its Town Council just in the same way that the Town Council needs to work with the community.

Its easy to make glib and vacuous comments about wanting 'action' from the Town Council but what does 'action' mean? It could mean anything. Or nothing. It sounds like it means something significant but in reality its entirely without substance. So what do people want from their Town Council? Quantify it and communicate it. Start a dialogue, that's what adults do.

So, as part of that adult dialogue, comments can now only be made when you have followed the instructions laid out in the 'Commenting on M&B' page. Hopefully this will mean that I have far fewer comments to moderate and those that I do moderate will be written by real people with real identities. Anonymous comments will no longer be published.

Till next time, I'm still Niall Connolly