Thanks to Wendy for sending this opinion piece through – We hope it stimulates some debate. Don’t forget to vote at the bottom on the piece – Ed
There was a thought-provoking article in Sunday’s Observer about whether Internet commentators should use their real names. As it’s as relevant to VentnorBlog as it is to all online sites which allow comments, I thought it would be worth flagging up to VB readers.
Rachel Cooke, who admits to having been stung by online comments, argues that Internet commentators should use their real names, saying: “anonymous posters are cowards. It’s pathetic. The honourable thing to do is to put your name to bad reviews and all the other stuff, and if this makes your social life awkward – as it sometimes does for me – the upside is that, in future, you will think rather harder before you begin typing.”
Aleks Krotoski counters that Web-anonymity is a good thing, allowing people to be more open and honest, and stimulating debate. She comments that, “research shows that people are more willing to be open and honest and to help one another than to try to break down the virtual social order.”
Tussling
After reading the article I found myself tussling with the pros and cons.
I comment under my own name on VentnorBlog, but use an initial for my surname. It’s a middle road that differentiates me from other VB-reading Wendys, but means I retain a degree of Internet privacy; I don’t really want every comment I’ve ever written on anything to be searchable.
I wouldn’t want to use a pseudonym on VentnorBlog, though. Why would I need to? I’m happy to be open. And I do think that anonymity can sometimes bring out the worst in people, allowing them to say things they wouldn’t say if they were identifiable.
Sometimes I use nicknames
And yet on the forum for Bestival, for instance, I use a nickname. Why? Partly because that seems to be the convention on music forums. But I think it’s really because I don’t want to risk my musical tastes being judged uncool by fellow-commentators. And I suspect that’s why other music forum posters hide behind a nickname too.
I dislike the vitriol that anonymous posting can encourage, and on that I side with Rachel Cooke. But those comments can be tempered by the button to report them if they’re offensive, and the “thumbs up” buttons that allow readers to register when they value a comment. And perhaps Aleks Krotoski is right that to insist on a real-names policy would stifle debate.
Plus there are times when I thoroughly approve of anonymous posting. It would ruin the mystique to know who VentnorBlog‘s Daft Old Duffer really is.
Have a read of The Observer’s article for yourself.
Let us know what do you think
Is anonymity a good or bad thing? We’d be really interested in hearing your views. It’s simple with this poll below.
If you jumped straight here from the front page, don’t forget to have a (read of Wendy’s opinion piece on anonymity).
Poll closed, here are the results
Image: xenïa antunes under CC BY 2.0
