The Tennessean has joined various media outlets around the country in banning anonymous commenters from its website. Although this writer doesn't particularly like the left-leaning example that the paper used in its story (Nashville restaurant owner Randy Rayburn's opposition to the so-called "guns-in-bars" bill and anonymous reaction to it-primarily because anonymous commenters from the Left can be just as hateful or ridiculous, so The Tennessean should have presented an example of both kinds of instances), he does appreciate the principle involved. Those people wishing to make comments to major news sites that might make controversial statements that would require verification or backing up need to put their name to them. Those individuals who would say things or post information that is factually incorrect.
Many people who oppose this change are saying that it smacks of censorship and limits free speech, something it most certainly does not do. Firstly, newspapers are private entities who have the right to moderate the comments to their websites in a manner that they see fit. Those papers and other websites which are now (or soon will be) requiring Facebook as a comment platform have simply decided that forcing people to put some kind of name with their statements are the best way to insure that their forums do not degenerate into personal vitriol, or worse, platforms for absolute stupidity. When blogging at The World According to Oatney, this writer has traditionally allowed anonymous comments under the theory that someone with knowledge of a story may post anonymous information that is worth following up on. However, this allowance has often produced more crap in the commode than potential opinion or news material.
The Examiner now essentially forces commenters to post via their Facebook accounts, and the number of vitriolic or (for lack of a better word) just plain ignorant comments seems to have been drastically reduced, and instead we see thoughtful comments that contribute to the discussion. E.W. Scripps and the Knoxville News Sentinel ought to consider adopting a similar policy for their websites. If you believe in what you are saying, then it shouldn't be something that you are attempting to hide behind on the internet.
For the record, when this writer comments on other sites, he does so under his own name.
Comments