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Dienekes' Anthropology Blog is the grand ole man of genetic blogs, well-praised in all quarters with archives going back to 2004. It is run by Dienekes Pontikos (blogger pseudonym), a Pontos Greek whose family is from Turkey, and who describes himself, far too modestly, as "an anthropology dilettante."

Dienekes keeps current on a large range of scientific papers appearing in human population genetics, physical anthropology, archeology and history. His judgments are sparing, but sound, and he encourages you to "reuse any of the materials of this blog for non-commercial purposes, as long as you attribute them to Dienekes Pontikos and provide a link to either the individual blog entry or to Dienekes' Anthropology Blog." If you are looking for elegant perfection, bookmark Dienekes and follow him on Twitter.

Abusive Posts
DNA Forums is "for posting and discussing news of a Historical/Genealogical/Genetic nature only." It has been online for several years and has 222 topics and 4602 replies. You must subscribe to read and participate. It is hard to tell who runs or moderates its threads. Announcements seem to come from George van der Merwede, who is listed as the owner in a WhoIs search.

There have been complaints about abusive posts on DNA Forums. Blogging, of course, can result in a range of legal liabilities and other unforeseen consequences, including defamation, malicious statements, libel and slander.

Several users have complained about trolling on these forums--making personal comments aimed at causing grief or stirring up hatred. According to the Internet definition, a troll is "someone who posts inflammatory, extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community, such as an online discussion forum, chat room, or blog, with the primary intent of provoking readers into an emotional response or of otherwise disrupting normal on-topic discussion."

As long as you do not get involved in any nasty consequences of participating, you should take advantage of the instant world of DNA news and views. For the state of the science as well as unparalleled civility and informativeness, we recommend Dienekes.