Perhaps nothing else has given me more consternation in this job of being an editor than getting letters to the editor. And then publishing them, or not publishing them.

It is true that in the “olden days” we used to get a lot more letters to the editor. Some of them were printed in the newspaper, some were not.

Sometimes it was a difficult decision whether to print them or not.

You see, there are not a lot of rules or laws about printing letters we receive. Newspapers have traditionally accepted letters to the editor and then published them, but honestly, there is no law or rule that says we have to. It is pretty much up to us, the editors of each newspaper.

Oh, there are some laws that cover things that are libelous or too profane. But for the most part, we editors decide our own rules, such as whether the letter is on a current topic, or whether it has true facts or even if, yes, it makes any sense at all or is pretty much gibberish.

I have probably had more reaction to letters that I have printed at the newspapers I have been the editor of, than anything I printed that I personally wrote.

I have had to explain numerous times that, hey, I didn’t write the letter. It is the opinions of the person who wrote the letter.

They acknowledge that fact but then add, “Yeah, but you printed it in the paper, so you must agree with it.”

Not true. I mean, sometimes it is true, but sometimes it is not.

I have advised some letter writers of some language that needs to be changed in their letter before we can print it. Often that language comes under the heading of “unsubstantiated accusations.” We even have a lawyer on call that I can send a questionable letter to and get advice on what language needs to be changed, or whether the letter contains libelous wording and should not be run at all.

That was true for years, but nowadays many people with agendas bypass the newspaper and put their beliefs out on social media for everyone to see. And, by the way, no editor is available to go through it first. So, they are not really letters to the editor, they are just a place where anyone can pretty much write anything they want.

I used to advise writers of letters to the editor to not be too surprised if they get a response to their letter. Either verbally or a written letter in return to theirs. Now, someone posting on social media can get a lot of response in a pretty big hurry.

But then again, that seems to be the reason now why they post things, to get a response.

During election season, we used to get a lot of letters to the editor. Ones on topics we would usually print, ones endorsing candidates, not so much. Letters right before the election, usually not at all, especially if they raised new concerns or statements that others would not have time to respond to before the election.

Are those all laws newspapers have to follow? No. Freedom of the Press means we can do what we think is right. They are self-imposed rules.

This week we bent some of those self-imposed rules a little bit. There are several letters related to the election, but we decided to run them even if they are running just days before the election. One is in response to a previous letter to the editor, and another one brings up an unusual perspective of someone involved in something on the upcoming ballot.

One can make an argument that we should not have printed the letters. But truthfully, I decided to err on the side of letting them run, just for the information that they contain if nothing else.

One letter we received did not run. Although it did contain some new information, it was anonymous, and unsigned letters are hardly ever allowed. The letter was signed by a group name, but not by an individual. That makes it anonymous, in our opinion.

So, this week I might get some criticism because of a letter that we did run in the Register, and also be criticized for one we did not.

Ah, the life of an editor. Always interesting.

Like so many people I know and have talked to, I will be pretty happy when this election stuff is over and maybe life will get back to normal. Whatever normal is, these days.

We can only hope.

In the meantime, please feel free to send me a letter to the editor whenever you want. Just try and keep it on a topic of interest to our readers, not excessively long, not libelous and not full of “unsubstantiated accusations.”

And be willing to sign your name to it.

Then remember you just might get a response to your letter. Positive or negative.