Anonymously Speaking - Part 3

Over at the website of WHMP radio's "Morning News," with Chris Collins & Tom Vannah, I found a podcast from an episode recorded this past November where Collins goes off on anonymous posters at Masslive who have insulted him and Tom on the "TV and Radio" forum.

My feelings on anonymous posters has already been documented. Collins more-or-less reiterates the common complaint us "known" posters have - that anonymous posters are generally abusive and insulting because they are "somebody else" when they're online, and don't have to be concerned about paying any social (or legal) consequences for their words/actions.

Collins mentions that the Masslive folks do a good job of patrolling the threads looking for slanderous or libelous material, which they do. I just sometimes wish they would deliver the editorial sword to some of the more childish and abusive posts. But I guess drawing the line between poor taste and poking fun can be a difficult one.

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Anonymously Speaking - Part Two

In relation to my previous post on anonymous online forums posters, I found this article and thought I'd pass it along. I remain almost entirely unsympathetic to the "anonymous" cause. I can see some limited excuses for certain people to need anonymity, but overall, I believe nearly all anonymous users of online forums choose to mask their identities just so that they can be abusive (with no repercussions). Many of their rantings and insults go far beyond childish. If these people ever actually met - face to face - with the people they were insulting, they would be red-faced and embarrassed beyond ever even admitting to.

An excerpt from the article: "There are examples everywhere of anonymous comments that cause harm. On even the most innocuous sites — a parenting message board, for example — anonymity often leads to the type of response that would hardly be likely if names were attached."

I agree. And I hope that in the future, more forums will be available that require the positive identification of those who choose to participate.

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