the Confirmation (September the 29th)

    The most important reason why anonymous comments should not be banned is because it would limit the ideas and opinions people can have when they are anonymous. William Grueskin, dean of academic affairs at Columbia's journalism school, stated, "People who might have something useful to say are less willing to participate in boards where the tomatoes are being thrown." Also, Robert Bertsche, media lawyer and representative of the New England Newspaper & Press Association said, "By allowing anonymous comments, you're going to get things an information that otherwise would not come to light,". Would people be as interested in a Southwest Asian womens' rights as they are if women had not shared their experiences in the comments below? Comments often provide useful insight to the topic a news article is dealing with. In such cases, people who have opinions that others should be aware of may be unwilling to post their thoughts if their personal information is available to the public. Consequently, those people might not post comments any longer, and the rest of the internet is left with the less-diverse and filtered thoughts and ideas left among each other. 

    Another important aspect of anonymous comments is that they guarantee personal privacy and safety. Especially regarding sensitive topics, people should be given the right to express what they believe in safety. The news industry should be able to contemplate the various situations its readers are in and respect their rights of expression or speech, with the circumstances in mind. This can be accomplished through anonymity. Forcing people to post comments under their real names may lead to creepy Google stalking and if serious, violence. People who are vulnerable to discrimination, people who are afraid of reprisals for criticism, people who have minority opinions, people who have minority beliefs or personal practices and crime victims all have a right to express their opinions online, and anonymity can assure their safety along with their rights. With anonymous comments, people do not have to worry about their bosses firing them over what they posted online (which they had every right to), and people do not have to worry about suffering from oral or physical violence over what they wrote online about a touchy subject. Anonymity keeps people safe to express what they really believe.