The overwhelming majority of comments that I receive are posted to this blog the moment I get them. If I feel that a comment is more of some kind of personal attack, or over the top in other ways, I may filter it, edit it some, or elect not to post the comment. For the record, since August 2006, when I authored my first post, the number of comments I have disallowed in their entirety can be counted on one hand. If you somehow got caught in my spam filter and I never saw your comment, my apologies. I think I do a good job of disclosing any relationships I have, and that is why I was surprised to receive the following comment.

“How much of a kickback are you getting for this post? His presentation was a dreadfully boring infomercial (an ineffective one at that). This leads me to wonder how much he paid XXXX to bore XXXX to death.”

If you are really astute, you may be able to figure out where this comment came from, but I will not be posting it. Why? I am not sure why this comment bothered me so much, but it did. I suppose I think of myself as just a normal guy who likes to travel and likes sharing his experiences in doing so. You will notice that this blog isn’t called Unicorns and Doves Travel Well or Honeysuckle and Roses Fly First Class. It’s called Marshall Jackson on Travel, and there’s a reason for that. I’m Marshall Jackson. I like to travel, I like to cruise, and I enjoy sharing my experiences here. I enjoy hearing from you in comments about your travel experiences, and I don’t mind one bit if you disagree with my take on things in those comments.

MJ on Travel is not the only thing I do. I have a day job that requires a little travel, certainly less than half of my total travel, and I’ve been told I can sometimes write if I try. One thing I am not out to do is collect a payday, kickback, or anything else in return for the things I say here. Have I gotten a few bottles of wine, and a couple of cheese trays over the years? Sure, I have. And yes, I even have some affiliate links for credit cards which are fully disclosed. One thing I haven’t had is anything near what I would consider a “kickback.”

I have added a page to the blog simply called Ethics. In that I say the following,

I value your readership tremendously, and I want you to rest assured that you can trust everything you read here at Marshall Jackson on Travel. Blogging is not my full time job, but everything you read on this blog is my full time responsibility. As you may be aware, I have an affiliate relationship with some credit card issuers. If a link contained in any post is an affiliate link, it will be fully disclosed in the post. Further, if I receive anything that might be perceived as a benefit from any travel-related entity, it will be fully disclosed in the blog post, and on this page. That, is my commitment to you.

I don’t know what else to say except thank you for reading the blog, and I wish you the best in 2013. Let’s travel well together!