Once you’ve begun a thread, you own it. The strength of your evolving ideas, stories, arguments and debates -- and how you present them -- matters more than your past history. The company you keep also figures in.

When someone replies to a discussion you’ve started, you can choose to dismiss their response.  You dismiss a response by clicking on the x button.

* By dismissing it, you signal that you don’t find the person’s reply to be of high enough quality or relevant to keep in the discussion. The reply is then removed from the thread, along with any subsequent replies, and has a separate identity and permalinked URL.

The "dismiss" option would be best put into play to cast off trolls, submissions that do not forward the conversation, off-topic discussion, and anyone trying to attach themselves to your thoughtful thread without thought.

We urge you not to summarily dismiss a well-argued counterpoint to your comment.