Experience has shown that anonymity cures timidity -- and, oftentimes, civility.
Many newspapers that require authors' identities as a condition of publishing readers' comments in their print editions have retreated from that standard online in order to drive traffic. The local publication is one of those.
At first it allowed commenters to use pseudonyms online but only after registering their true identity with the newspaper. It abandoned that requirement, though, after the website of a sister publication in another city proved far more popular with no such restriction.
Participation soared, but so did the level of offense -- with some messages so coarse and cruel they were taken down.
Now comes word that the local paper will return to insisting on identification. Not sure what prompts that, but I applaud it.
Mean-spirited messages may drive traffic but not respect or credibility.
Don’t Be a Meeting Wanderer
4 years ago
As I mentioned on the class message board recently, the network of blogs I belong to requires users to register - they can use a pseudonym of course, but they must use a real email address. Blogs that allow totally anonymous comments quickly devolve - so while it may increase short term traffic, it is detrimental to community, which is actually the long term driver of traffic.
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