An enduring dialogue; Readers had 1,228 letters during 2011.

• Position: EDITORIAL - Editorial

COLUMN: IN OUR OPINION

Each year, hundreds of Telegram & Gazette readers participate in The People's Forum by doing something more than posting a comment online or making a blog entry: They pick up pen and paper, or sit at their computer, compose a letter, sign it, and send it to us.

They do so in order to let their fellow citizens throughout Central Massachusetts know what they think about issues great and small.

We consider their efforts to be one of the cornerstones of democracy, and are pleased to maintain The People's Forum as a place for diverse and lively opinions.

During 2011, the Telegram & Gazette published 1,228 letters. We do not block letters from publication for ideological reasons, nor do we solicit letters favorable to the newspaper's editorial positions.

We believe that the letters to the editor are among the most accurate gauges of the viewpoints of the residents of Central Massachusetts. On today's editorial and facing page we list the names of all those who took the time to write to us in 2011.

Those whose letters were selected as a Letter of the Week in the Sunday Telegram are listed in boldface. Also appearing today is a list of those who authored `As I See It' pieces in 2011.

The Telegram & Gazette publishes the vast majority of letters submitted to us, provided we can confirm authorship, and that a letter meets our guidelines.

We feel a special obligation to print comments made in response to our editorials and news coverage. We invite constructive criticism and observations.

Without exception, letters cannot be longer than 250 words, and letters endorsing political candidates or ballot questions cannot exceed 100 words.

We limit an individual to one published letter every two months. We reserve the right to edit letters for clarity and in accordance with good taste.

Letters must be original, and quotations from other material should be clearly attributed to their sources. As a general rule, we do not publish reprints, extended quotations, open letters, letters written for publication in multiple newspapers, or letters that have previously appeared elsewhere, whether in print or online. In short, we aim to publish letters that are original, local, and exclusive to the Telegram & Gazette.

We publish a limited number of letters from outside our circulation area, usually ones that pertain directly to our news coverage or editorials, or from authors with local ties, many of whom are regular contributors to The People's Forum.

Letters should be of general public interest. We do not publish letters that are strictly personal, including letters about damaged or missing property or pets, consumer complaints, or letters dealing solely with personal religious beliefs.

Political endorsements and letters concerning municipal, state or national elections must not exceed 100 words, and must be received at least 10 working days before the relevant election in order to be considered for publication. It is best to send endorsement letters as early as possible, and individually authored letters in support of a candidate are given priority over form letters and those that are the work of letter-writing efforts orchestrated by a political campaign. All endorsement letters must be signed by the authors themselves. We do not publish letters of any kind submitted by proxy or on someone's behalf.

At times, when we believe a given topic has been exhausted, we call a halt to further comments on a given subject.

We do not publish letters written in verse or essay form.

We do not publish letters that we believe come under the libel laws. Material may be libelous if it holds a private person or organization up to hatred, contempt, suspicion or wrongdoing, scorn or ridicule. We review letters about active court cases carefully.

We do not publish hate mail or letters that are obviously offensive to good taste.

We do not publish anonymous letters, those whose authorship cannot be determined or confirmed, or those that are illegible or incomprehensible.

Class project letters should be submitted to us as a group with a cover letter listing the school, teacher or teachers and grades of students involved. Because of limited space, we will normally select and publish just one representative letter from each school's letter-writing project.

All letters, however submitted, should include the writer's full name, a complete home and mailing address, and a signature, or, in the case of e-mail, a phone number for verification of authorship.

These guidelines have been developed so as to provide as many writers as possible the opportunity to present their thoughts in The People's Forum.

Alex Abdow

Hope Abisamra

Daniel Abraham

Bonnalee Adams

Michelle Adams

Timothy E. Ahern

Lindsey Albert

Gail M. Alcarez

Jo Alexopoulos

Joanne Alinovi

Helen R. Alisch

Richard G. Allan

Daniel Allie

John Almeida

Philip Alston

Stacy Amaral

Patricia Anderson

Paula Anderson

Ralph W. Anderson Jr.

Roger Anderson

Paul J. Andonian

Albert Andrade

Herbert J. Andrews

Mark W. Andrews

Barbara Anthony

Harry F. Armstrong III

Herbert Arnold Sr.

Joseph Aromando

Vincent Asbridge

Tracy Ashworth

Carl David Askling

Victoria M. Augustine

Margo Austein

Harry & Louise Awiszio

Jeffrey Bailey

Bonnie A. Baird

Megan Baker

Ralph S. Baker

Susannah Baker

Elizabeth J. Baldarelli

Carlo M. Baldino

Justyna Ball

William Baller

Kelly Barbon

Tyrone C. Barner

Margot Barnet

Andrew Barrett

Alexandra Bartelmann

Robert Bartholomew

Anthony Barton

Marcia Beal

Kevin D. Bean

David Beardsley

Malcolm Beauvais

Allen H. Beck

Anne Beckstrom

Douglas A. Belanger

Robert D. Belden

Wayne E. Belles Sr.

Lisa Bennes

Jeffrey P. Bennett

Kristin Bergman

Justin M. Bernard

Lois Bernier

Joan Bevers

Roccco Bifano

William Bigelow

Cori Henry Billiar

Mark P. Bilotta

Frank Binder

Shreena Bindra

Joseph A. Bisol

Susan Black

William J. Blake

Barbara F. Blavackas

Nancy L. Blomquist

Lydia M. Bogar

David Bogoian

John J. Bolduc

Robert J. Bolduc

Donna Bolster

Michael Bombard

Judith A. Borbone

Jeffrey A. Born

William Borowski

Emilio C. Botticelli

Kelly Boulay

Tima M. Bourassa

Gail Bourque

Gerard W. Bourque

Patricia Bousquet

Charles Lloyd Bovaird II

James Bovaird

Donald E. Bowles

Bari Boyer

Donna Brady

Matthew Brady

Robert & Carol Breault

Myra Brennan

Lance D. Bresee

David A. Brigham

John P. Brissette

David A. Brooks

John L. Brooks

Myra Brooks

Diane Brown

Elizabeth Marie Brown

Janet Brown

Judith Tonelli-Brown

Rachel Shannon Brown

Michael Bruce

Stephen Buchalter

Patricia Bukoski

Emily Burda

Joseph Burdo

Clarence Burley

Charlotte Burns

Kevin T. Burns

Anthony Buthray

Douglas P. Butler

Sheldon D. Bycoff

Anita Byron

Frank R. Callahan

Irene Camerano

William Campbell

William C. Campbell

Kevin Cantwell

Jo Caplin

Mary Capman

Michael A. Capone

Pamela J. Capp

Bruce Card

Robert W. Cardoza

Deborah D. Carey

Tina Carey

Donna M. Carlson

Edwin Carlson

Beth Casavant

Roderick F. Cashes

Katherine Cavaliere

Dean J. Cavaretta

America Cepeda

James P. Chabot

Ellen M. Chambers

Simon J. Chaisson Jr.

Ellen M. Chambers

Isabelle C. Chang

Yolanda Chapin

Deborah S. Charron

Gilbert Chase

Nick & Bobbie Chase

Sarah K. Chase

Richard L. Chernisky

Donald A. Cherry

Simon J. Chiasson Jr.

Charles D. Chieppo

Carol Childress

William H. Chin

Robert C. Chisholm

Beverly B. Chorbajian

Peter G. Christie

Roberta J. Cioci

Thomas Ciras

Leonard Ciuffredo

Elizabeth Clark

Robert Clark

Bernard Coblentz

Margaret Coffin

Helen Cohane

Annie Cohn

Frederick Colbert

Merry Cole

Devin Coleman

George M. Coleman

Katherine L. Coleman

John P. Collins

Kimberlee Comeau

Ted D. Conna

Dennis A. Connole

Richard Connole

Robert Connor

Janet Conrad

Karen Conti

Joseph M. Corazzini

James F. Cosgrove

Louis J. Cornacchioli

James F. Cosgrove

Kristin Costello

Vera Couture

Lori Cowee

David Coyne

Robert Cozzens

Herbert S. Cremer

John Timothy Cronin

Timothy Cronin

Melbourne C. Crouse

Joan L. Crowell

Mildred Cummings

George Curtis

Beverly A. Cutting

Ann M. Dagle

William M. Daly

Glen Damato

Jonathan Dandridge

Margaret D'Arcy

Esther Darling

Leonard C. and Margaret Darling

Cassandra Datena

Wanda M. Davaz

Edward Davidian

Kelly Davis

Sharon M. Davis

Manda Day

Janet Dearden

Michelle Deignan

Joanne C. DeLalla

Louis J. Delalla Jr.

Cecilia DelGaudio

John R. D'Elia

Joanne C. DeLalla

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