Wow. You people are very sensitive to imagined slights. The only thing I insulted was use of the term "LOL" (and I stand by my comments -- it's a childish phrase, so overused that it is now basically meaningless). The only thing I defended was appropriate punctuation. And "Alison," one might put your name in quotation marks to indicate the possibility that your name is not, in real life, "Alison." It's a technique often used on the Internets. The poster is merely saying, "you call yourself 'Alison,' so that's what I'll call you too."

Brandon, you are absolutely right. Quotation marks -- and all forms of punctuation, for that matter -- are a liberal plot. As are flu shots, silica gel packets, the letters H-K (with the possible exception of J -- jury's still out on that one), the weather (not the kind Pat Robertson controls -- the other weather), and the space between one's genitals and anus (commonly referred to as the "taint"). Now you know what they know. Use this knowledge wisely, brave warrior.

I think -- and I'm pretty sure the Chicago Manual will back me up on this one -- that quotation marks, or "quotes," are used to indicate that the phrase one is using is not original but rather taken from someone else (in this case, Alison). Because not using quotation marks in such situations is called plagiarism (sort of like theft, but in written form).

Alison, nobody made fun of your husband, marriage, or children. You need to take a deep breath and calm down. Take a walk or something.

Thank you for reading my blog, but I can assure you that I'm not this "Alison" person. I could hardly have carried on such an affair were I, like Alison, "happily married for 10 years" . . . with "2 kids." And, more importantly, I would never, under any circumstances, use the term "LOL," unless it was in the context of "hey, how annoying are people who use the term 'LOL?'"