Tuesday 3 February 2009

Editorial: House Rules for Commenting

Firstly, a big thank you to everyone who has commented on the stories covered by Reading List.

This blog welcomes contributions from all readers and hopes to stimulate discussion on the topics and issues which concern us. Encouraging participation in political debate is the best way in which we will spread the ideas and knowledge which will resolve the problems that impact on our lives, so constructive comments are much appreciated.

However it can be a concern that comments are being made anonymously, as this may lead to readers being influenced in negative ways.

Of course there's nothing to stop sock-puppetry, astroturfing or a variety of other deceptive and manipulative online habits, but the purposes of such behaviour is invariably destructive and shall be discouraged.

The editorial team understands the reasons why many people may desire to keep their true identity hidden, but in the interests of fostering openness and honesty (if not complete transparency) we recommend choosing a pseudonymous moniker to prevent confusion.

Oranjepan says:
if I can do it, so can you!

=

For anyone who is interested this debate is active here.

4 comments:

  1. Anonymous4 February 2009 at 10:12

    No need to throw toys out the pram Gareth.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Oranjepan4 February 2009 at 18:33

    Strike One.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous6 February 2009 at 15:18

    Reads like 2 bald men having a fight over a comb to me.

    Anyway, you have been outed as John Wood and therefore any further guessing is unnecessary.

    By the way, in what way is using a false name better than anon? Who is to say that someone else cannot adopt the guise. Of course you could do what the turncoat indi Taff does and not allow anyone to comment without an established ID, but then look what happens to the comment level.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Oranjepan6 February 2009 at 15:30

    Strike Two.

    I've since discovered who John Wood is and by all accounts he outed himself a long time ago.

    Keep guessing though.

    The point about using a pseudonym (and hopefully sticking to just one) is that it enables you to build up a conversation where others start to link the thought processes behind different comments together.
    Pseudonymity proves you aren't just drive-by commenting and gives more weight to anything you wish to say.
    It shows a bit of respect for e-citizenship and enables you to own your own words - anonymity is easier to disregard, while real identification carries a different set of spamming and fraud threats.

    ReplyDelete

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