Eliminating online anonymity


                               Kudos to McClatchy

This is overdue. McClatchy papers are now requiring those who post comments after news stories of columns to use their names. They must have a Facebook account and picture for anyone to make comments. 

If you ever read any of these comments, they can be libelous, racist, sexist -- you can continue the list. Essentially, they can be very demeaning to other people. 

Since these people have a handle like 4xtradude or some other silly name, assuring their anonymity,  they are never held accountable for their comments. 

I never read these comments until the Jerry Sandusky case occurred. I am not sure why I did so with this case, but they often gave a feel for how people were thinking. 

The intent of these newspapers is to eliminate those kinds of comments. "Posting will require real names and some kind of picture or icon, whatever you choose for your Facebook page. You will need to have at least four 'friends' on Facebook to post comments," according to McClatchy's Centre Daily Times.

They went further, "As the folks at McClatchy, our parent company, said in rolling out the new system: 'Since Facebook tries to enforce real names, people are less likely to ‘troll’ when people know who they are.' "

Whether or not other papers follow this will be interesting. The negative part is the financial aspect. This will reduce the number of page-views per day, and that is what determines the amount that they charge for advertising. The revenue streams will definitely drop.

Nevertheless, this is a positive move.  


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