All posting comments to this website, please read carefully.

Folks, I'm going to take one more concentrated family break before the year's out. I'll be back by next week. Please feel free to continue the discussion.

It's a great thing that we can all come together here. The comments on this board have been a special place all year. They have not been like the comments at other boards that I've seen. People have become friends. They have learned from each other. They often disagree with each other, but they've always listened to each other. On the rare occasions when they've lost their tempers, they've quickly apologized.

Somehow, in the past week, the disagreements have become more heated and the writing has become more careless. I've never had to calm people down more than I have this week. The LoDuca trade reaction was nothing compared to this.

I think we're at a real turning point here, which will determine whether this remains a great place to chat or whether it will become an ordinary one. This is a personal thing for me, yes, but it is also a personal thing for many longtime readers. You talk about the Dodgers making the right moves. It's time for everyone here to make the right moves.

Please conduct yourselves here the way you would if you were actually in the same room with the other commenters. This is a public place. Treat it like one.

Please always be considerate of the other people in this forum. Being mean or snide is not productive - and it's certainly not persuasive.

Please do not use profanity. I'll say it for the hundreth time. I curse all the time in my own life, but here I don't. Too often it leads the debate into the ground, and it shuts out people who are offended by it. Yes, it's their choice to go somewhere else - but I don't want them to have to choose. It's amazingly easy not to curse before hitting the "submit" button. Please do not use profanity.

Please do not make personal attacks. Debate the ideas, not the person. Please even be somewhat considerate of the Dodger personnel you are writing about. Yes, it's possible. Challenge yourself to criticize without demonizing.

Please think about how you phrase what you are writing. Please don't just shoot off at the mouth. Please don't just shout and spew. This is not your padded cell for solitary confinement. There are other people here. Write your arguments. It's better this way, trust me. If this is a new concept, I understand - I do. Just take the time to think about it.

Please be open-minded.

Please don't fight fire with fire. Please caution people when they are violating these guidelines - but please do so calmly.

As the year nears a close, I have high hopes for the future Dodger Thoughts. It has been incredibly rewarding for me, and I hope it is for you. Because of that, I feel there is much at stake. Please treat this forum and its participants as if it were your investment on the line - because it is.