Some Folks Just Don't Want to Pull Back the Identity Curtain
I have enjoyed reading “letters to the editor” in newspapers since I was a kid. I like reading what other people think on important topics, especially when pieces are well written and well thought out, even if I disagree with the points being made. I like to think and make up my own mind.
This interest has carried over to reading the comments in online magazines and newspapers. There is a big difference though from the old days of Letters to the Editor. Back then people who submitted letters to the newspaper editor had to supply their names and affiliations. Having that information available to the reader was a reasonable way to get some idea of where the author was coming from in terms of potential interests and biases.
Such personal identification information is often missing from online news and opinion comments. Pseudonyms abound. One might make the argument that what is written should be able to stand on its own without the need to refer to information useful in explaining the under pinning of the authors point of view.
I don’t buy that. I may want to know, for example, if a writer is a US citizen, a foreign national intent on politicking, or just a troll trying to get attention.
I usually take online comments more seriously when they are made by people willing to sign a real name instead of a pseudonym. I realize that people can fake real names and it’s expensive for publications to vet commenter identities. Still, I’ve never attempted to hide my identity when commenting online. I even occasionally include links to articles on my own web site if I think the link is relevant to the discussion.
There are good reasons to remain anonymous when commenting in public online. There are situations where the real possibility of stalking or violence exists. Despite that I’ve usually made the personal choice of taking free-speech rights very seriously.
Which brings up an amusing anecdote. I was recently going back-and-forth with one erudite commenter on a recent Washington Post editorial and wondered if the commenter was a US citizen, a Republican, a Russian, or what; I thought such information would help me understand the writer’s motivation. Instead, he (or she) responded, still posting anonymously, with “Just trust me!”
Coming from an anonymous commenter that really made me laugh!
Copyright 2023 by Dennis D. McDonald. Full disclosure: I no longer maintain Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter accounts and have found life is more pleasant without them.