For over a decade I've maintained a Commentary section on this site.

Anyone who knows me knows that I'm passionate about the world around me and I like expressing my opinions. I spend a lot of time on the articles I write, I do research, and in many cases list references. I find the writing process to be cathartic.

I don't care if people agree with what I write or not, although at the least I always hope that it'll make them think. It's better to have a misguided opinion than no opinion at all. Apathy truly does kill.

So why am I saying all this? Where has all the Commentary gone?

Recently I've been asked to sign a new Social Media guideline at work. It details what is and isn't acceptable online (apparently even swearing is a no no) and has an overly broad scope that not only includes the normal sites such as Facebook, Twitter etc. but also personal websites or Blogs. Any transgression is at the sole discretion of the higher ups grounds for discipline up to and including dismissal.

On the one hand I do recognize the desire for companies to protect themselves legally from any harmful backlash from any employee ranting and raving but I'm also a firm believer in the need to separate work from home life. It's apparently not enough that I already put in a regular work week plus evenings and weekends, I must also conduct myself according to company policy 24x7.

There's also been several cases lately where a person says something online that someone doesn't like and they contact the employer and presto bingo that person's livelihood is ruined. It doesn't matter if what was said was illegal or not, it just takes one person's moral indignation to be ignited - and let's face it, there's always someone outraged about something. So maybe it's for the best.

From now on there will be no more commentary on here, I'll be limiting my social interaction on sites such as Facebook to such banalities as 'sure is hot today' and posting cat videos (which are adorable), and any conversations with friends and family will be done individually in hushed tones with my lawyer present.

"If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear" - George Orwell