I’ve been working at this publication for more than three decades, and during that time the number one asked question when I’m speaking somewhere always revolves around “letters to the editor.”

They seem to be the most polarizing aspect of our newspaper – hated and loved at the same time.

Yes, we’ve lost subscriptions over the years because of the letters we’ve published. We’ve also received plenty of kudos from subscribing folks who appreciate our willingness to run nearly every letter we’ve ever received – even if they don’t agree with the content or subject matter.

Just about every newspaper in the country has its own subjective letters policy. I suppose ours may be considered a bit free-wheeling, but the letters remain tepid compared to the stuff that’s out there on the net these days…

While some may find this surprising, we actually do have some “rules” when it comes to letters. They have to be 300 words or less. Individual letter writers are only allowed two letters per calendar month. Husbands don’t count toward their wives’ quota and vice versa. Letters thanking a business for something are permitted; letters criticizing a business for something aren’t published.

“Facts” are checked as much as humanly possible under our deadlines, especially as they deal with local news. If someone espouses the grassy knoll theory for JFK’s assassination, however, we’re not going to investigate that…

Do we have to run every letter? No.

Could we change our policy? Yes. But right now the publisher is content with our policy.

Could we whittle down the more “extreme” letters or not run the business or political candidate endorsement letters? Sure.

Could we run just a sampling of the letters we receive, like the large metro dailies? Of course.

Could we limit the number of letters to one per month per person? Yep! Or maybe just give them 200 words? Yes again.

Do some letter writers meet their twice-a-month quota? Absolutely. Are we forcing you to read them? Don’t think so. That’s one reason we put the letter writer’s name at the top of the letter (instead of at the bottom, like most papers). And there are writers on “both sides of the aisle” that meet their quota, by the way.

Have we not run some letters that we’ve received? Yes.

When I first started here in 1983, we really didn’t have too many rules at all. No word limit; no restriction on number of submittals. We then first started limiting letters to 400 words; later that was changed to 300.

Do we espouse hate by publishing certain letters? No. Do we agree with every letter? Of course not.

Do the letters reflect badly on our community to outsiders who just happen to pick up our paper? Are we just a bunch of malcontents subscribing to all types of conspiracy theories? With 22,000 people living here, the letters are obviously just a sampling from residents who choose to write us in the first place.

Don’t like it? Well, send in a letter to the editor and let’s see what happens.