We encourage readers to write us. We don’t expect readers to always agree with our positions on every issue — something would be terribly wrong if they did.

And, in fact, we welcome letters to the editor taking views opposite of the newspaper’s because the purpose of the Call’s Opinions page is to serve as a community forum, promoting a discussion on issues affecting our readers.

We prefer letters of 200 words or less. Be-cause of space considerations, though, the shorter your letter, the better the chances are that it will be published on the Opinions Page.

Each letter written to us must be signed and include the author’s telephone number and address for verification purposes. We will not publish nor give out the author’s telephone number and address.

We also require that readers mark their letters to the editor as “written exclusively for the Call.”

If you have questions about your letter, call Mike Anthony at (314) 843-0102. Send letters to news1@callnewspapers.com.