Letters to the editor are important
It's again time to remind everyone that while we appreciate their letters to the editor, some tend to get a bit longwinded.

We get lax about enforcing our word limit for one reason and one reason alone- we love your letters, even when you're criticizing us. Freedom of the press and freedom of speech are important to us, and we're sure that they're important to you, too.

We print almost every letter, unless they're libelous or self-serving. To print as many letters as possible, we must control their length. Lately, we haven't been strictly enforcing our word limit, but it's time to tighten up again.

Please strive to meet the 300-word limit, 350 words at the absolute most.

While we're on the subject of letters, please remember, too, that we require a street address and phone number for every letter. If you sent a letter and it wasn't printed, there's a good chance that you didn't provide that information and we couldn't reach you for verification.

Neither your address nor your phone number is printed or released to the public, but they are required because we like to call and confirm that you wrote the letter, and not somebody else.

If someone wants to contact you through the newspaper, we'll let you know, and you can decide whether to call them or not.

We don't print anonymous letters or those with false names, so please include your first and last name unless you're known by your initials (in which case, first and middle initials are required).

We don't print copies of letters sent to elected officials or to government offices, nor do we print letters that were also sent to daily newspapers.

Again, your letters are important. If something is bugging you- or perhaps you want to pay a compliment- share it with our other readers. Letters can be mailed to the address at the lower right or e-mailed to newstip@theacorn.com.