Dear runner,

I have not put any argument forward, you did that. But without evidence it is “as sounding brass, or a clanging cymbal”. All I have done is furbished some statistics which directly contradicted it.

You have in a manner painted suicide as a reflection of society's, and by implication a person's morals.

Your baseless argument deserved challenging.

Dear OUG,

I did indeed place an errant % mark in “At its highest in 2001 it was 14.7% for every 1000 pregnancies.” The number is 14.7 per 1000. Sorry. I stand by the others.

I can see why you hate numbers.

Dear David Webb,

Thank you for your article. My apologies for the above diversions.

From my understanding the protocols around reporting suicides, particularly youth suicides, have contributed to a significant drop in cases over the last decade or so. I for one would be very uneasy about relaxing any of those protocols even if it were to gauge their effectiveness which I gather you dispute.

I would need a better reason to dismiss the gatekeepers than the ones offered.