Huffington Post to ban anonymous comments
http://edition.cnn.com/2013/08/22/tech/web/huffington-post-anonymous-comments/
Since its launch in 2005, the Huffington Post has garnered 260 million comments from its online community of readers, according to the spokesperson.
The site's current comment policy is clearly stated online, with guidelines for users that include "Be yourself, only yourself, and just one of yourself" as well as "If your comments consistently or intentionally make this community a less civil and enjoyable place to be, you and your comments will be excluded from it."
--comments of this article
This is why I post under my real name, my real photo (handsome devil, I know!). I hold myself accountable. If I write something sexist, racist, or homophobic, I could get into trouble, as I should. Too bad very few posters here in the CNN comments section have the same integrity.
You don't have to be posting something offensive for others to be offended. Perhaps my employer or uncle Pete don't share the same political views that I do. Perhaps discovering that through an online platform may cause discord. There are all sorts of reasons why people would want to communicate their thoughts, ideas, and opinions anonymously that don't involve them being a cyberbully.
Anyone who is in full support of having to identify themselves by name should simply type their first and last name into Google, followed by the word address and see the kind of trouble they are opening themselves up to
What if I posted under a real name, not MY real name - say - Pam Kardashian...is it enough to make Huffpo happy? It is still not me, even if my language is civil and I am being really nice! How can Huffpo verify?
There is a real fear of posters being harassed and bullied online for posting a good comment that some idi0tt out there may not agree! No one wants to simply become a victim even if they never posted anything objectionable. There is always someone who can Google your real name, get your street address and harass you just for fun! We live in a country where people get shot just because boys were bored!
Thanks...I will stick to remaining anonymous. Or else, I will boycott Disqus/CNN if they ever wanted our real names!
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I am less than happy with Huffington Post's ban on anonymous posters because such an approach limits what people are willing to say in public and limits public debate to what the mainstream media and elites want us to think!
We ALL lose when people are cowed into submission for fear of reprisals from employers, clients, landlords or even tenants.
When I expressed early opposition to Bush's push for the Iraq War in late 2002, I received online threats to my life from self-described "patriots".
When I express any criticism of Isrrael, I am bombarded with charges of anti-semitism, despite having written thousands of posts opposing all forms of bigotry, be it against Jews, Muslims, blacks, whites, homosexuals, etc.
Under those conditions, why would I want my name, photo, professional details and other personal information available to ALL??
Ariana Huffington's decision to require that all posts be run through Facebook is a massive defeat for free expression and a huge victory for mainstream thinking. With news that the ISIS has just taken Iraq's second largest city, I would think that this would be precisely the time to encourage contrarian views instead of quashing them!
I'm not changing my whole essay topic. I'm just simply changing my stance. After some research, I have come to the conclusion that people in fact should be allowed to be anonymous on the internet.
1. I came to know that one is allowed to chose on tumblr whether they want an 'ask anonymously' button or not. If they don't want anonymous questions, they don't have to get them. I am not in any way justifying anonymous hate. It's just that apart from the 'hate' and 'trolls', there's nothing really wrong with anonymous messages.
2. Suddenly I realized how dangerous real names on the internet are. Google can take you everywhere.
This is an interesting place to start your research, but it is only a starting place. You'll need to find usable academic sources in addition to examples of trolling.
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