Thursday, April 5, 2007
Wish to Remain Anonymous?
Earlier in the life of this blog, we occasionally saw comments from the readership posted to blog postings. This feedback excited us, because it's what we're striving for with this blog: two-way communication.
Within our leadership, however, there was some disagreement as to whether to allow anonymous comments. I took a more journalistic approach, and contended that comments should be seen as "letters to the editor," and that we should only publish signed comments, much as most newspapers only publish signed letters to the editor. Michael, on the other hand, held the opinion that this could potentially have a chilling effect on reader commentary, if only for the fact that Blogger requires you to sign up to post non-anonymous comments.
We concluded that the best way to solve this dilemma was to ask you, Dear Reader. Have you wanted to post comments before but decided not to do so, because you wished to remain anonymous, or felt the registration process was too much of a hassle? Do you think people should be allowed to post comments anonymously, or should they have to "own" their opinions?
Please share your opinion on this topic with us by posting a comment to this posting. I have temporarily enabled anonymous comments, so you're welcome to be as frank as you'd like. Thank you!
Within our leadership, however, there was some disagreement as to whether to allow anonymous comments. I took a more journalistic approach, and contended that comments should be seen as "letters to the editor," and that we should only publish signed comments, much as most newspapers only publish signed letters to the editor. Michael, on the other hand, held the opinion that this could potentially have a chilling effect on reader commentary, if only for the fact that Blogger requires you to sign up to post non-anonymous comments.
We concluded that the best way to solve this dilemma was to ask you, Dear Reader. Have you wanted to post comments before but decided not to do so, because you wished to remain anonymous, or felt the registration process was too much of a hassle? Do you think people should be allowed to post comments anonymously, or should they have to "own" their opinions?
Please share your opinion on this topic with us by posting a comment to this posting. I have temporarily enabled anonymous comments, so you're welcome to be as frank as you'd like. Thank you!
Comments:
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either way your purpose of the blog is to hear people's voice. why does it matter if it's anonymous or not? when you read about what some idiots have done to the ocean and precious lives in the ocean, you just get angry and want to say something you don't normally say. being able to remain anonymous is definitely a better way to express yourself in situations like that.
# posted by 
: April 5, 2007 at 12:16 PM
: April 5, 2007 at 12:16 PM
What would a signature change? I could sign up for a google account under any name I chose, couldn't I? And I personally don't care for yet another mechanism designed to register me for yet another on-line account with yet another password for myself. I commented once before and had no problem typing my name at the bottom of my 'anonymous' post. Newspapers do post anonymous letters, as well. And like the newspapers, the blogger is screening all comments before they're actually posted for all to see.
Mike (a.k.a. OBD 'Lars')
Mike (a.k.a. OBD 'Lars')
# posted by : April 6, 2007 at 1:16 PM
: April 6, 2007 at 1:16 PM
If you want comments on your blog, why should it matter whether people leave their name or not? The Blog author approves the comments anyway. Keep it simple.
Chuck Strickland
Chuck Strickland
# posted by : April 7, 2007 at 9:59 AM
: April 7, 2007 at 9:59 AM
i could care less...anonymous or not...the post is what counts the most.
Eric Escobar
Eric Escobar
# posted by : April 11, 2007 at 8:34 AM
: April 11, 2007 at 8:34 AM
Well, the response clearly indicates we should allow anonymous posts, so that's what we'll do. I still believe that people should "own" their opinions if they're going to express them, so I encourage everyone to sign their anonymous post with their name (as most have done above), but it's not required. Thanks for the responses!
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# posted by : April 11, 2007 at 8:55 AM
: April 11, 2007 at 8:55 AM 
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