Should Online Commenters Be Allowed to Remain Anonymous?
The ability to hide your identity gives some people more courage to speak out, but that courage often sparks vitriol that others believe would be curbed by being required to use real names.
The internet has allowed instantaneous conversation and exchange of ideas unlike any tool man has seen. But the anonymity that comes with it turns some people off. Rees Roberts penned a Local Voices post for Patch this week that expressed his desire to require article commenters and posters to use their real names. Two Republican legislators in New York are introducing the Internet Protection Act, requiring state-based websites to have online commenters identify themselves. Not every anonymous commenter is also venomous. Some just want to speak freely on a topic and a user name makes them feel safer. But when Boston.com sought to interview many of its most active commenters for an article, it found the most angry users — the “trolls,” as …
Frances Martin
8:33 am on Monday, April 8, 2013
I do use my own name and my view in general is-toughen up and admit who you are. I really don't think our neighbors are so scarey we can't freely voice an opinion--how is a democracy supposed to work if we're so afraid of disagreement we have to speak anonymously? I do think using names would cut down on the mean-spirited and nasty comments that sometimes appear in blogs. That being said, though… more ›