While I am not an avid commenter on your blog Thumper, I am an avid reader and I look forward to each of your insightful pieces.
Having seen your posts about the weird and wonderful commenters you have had in the past, and then when you reply to them with a blog post, I can certainly understand why you have decided to go down the path of making comments difficult to have published on your blog.
Minxy and I have not had anywhere near the quantity or type of comments that you receive, and while I know my personality, I do know that I would probably react in a similar way to you when people hurl abuse at you. I would go into my little corner and hide, and then be very selective as to what I post on my blog and then only revealing a tightly controlled view of me rather than the real view of me which is the intention of a blog about our lives.
I continue to look forward to your blog posts whether you have comments open on them or not, and I hope that one day I will join in the blog dialogue.
Caged Nerd