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Huffington Post To Ban Anonymous Comments


DonRocks

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I'm actually all for this. If you don't want people to know who you are, then don't post. I wish every site did this--the exception being sites where the "owner" knows who you are even if you use a screen name (and this isn't the only site I'm referring to). Of course, a site like this is manageable; HuffingtonPost is not. So use your real damn name. 

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I'm actually all for this. If you don't want people to know who you are, then don't post. I wish every site did this--the exception being sites where the "owner" knows who you are even if you use a screen name (and this isn't the only site I'm referring to). Of course, a site like this is manageable; HuffingtonPost is not. So use your real damn name. 

I'm all for it too, and I wish everyone would sign their real name in their signature file. Still, I can't make people do it because some people genuinely want (and need) privacy. I also wish everyone would fill in the month and date of their birthdays - just, because.

The one board I saw enforce real names was the dictatorial Mark Squires' wine board, and although it may have been because of the subject matter, the membership was overwhelmingly male; whereas ours is a good 50-50 split. I do think times have changed in recent years, however, so that may not be much of an issue anymore.

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I think another worry about using real names in profiles and as usernames is data scrapes from bots and spammers.  Over at Wineberserkers, there's a real names policy, but you're encouraged to use symbols, initials, or spaces in place of letters.  So I'd do something like Er!c W!se or EF Wise (which I actually use) when I post there.

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I'm all for it too, and I wish everyone would sign their real name in their signature file. Still, I can't make people do it because some people genuinely want (and need) privacy. I also wish everyone would fill in the month and date of their birthdays - just, because.

The one board I saw enforce real names was the dictatorial Mark Squires' wine board, and although it may have been because of the subject matter, the membership was overwhelmingly male; whereas ours is a good 50-50 split. I do think times have changed in recent years, however, so that may not be much of an issue anymore.

There are ways to protect one's privacy.  For example, I started posting comments on Charlie Pierce's Esquire blog and, after awhile, it started showing my name, as per usual, and my age (!). I realized that it was taken from FaceBook and immediately deleted that info and simply added that I live in DC. Also, I was too unaware to notice that all my comments were showing up on my FaceBook page.  Took care of that, too--if somebody wants to know what I post to Charlie, then you are going to have to read his blog. For some people birthdays are important; for others, not so much. You can know my name and the vicinity in which I live; but, you better have a very good reason to know anything else about me (and, I don't lie about my age, but I think some people who don't actually know me might be unduly influenced by that knowledge). I actually learned a very great deal about the value of protecting one's privacy for its own sake from my very dear MIL. I wish the young folk could understand that, too.

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There are ways to protect one's privacy.  For example, I started posting comments on Charlie Pierce's Esquire blog and, after awhile, it started showing my name, as per usual, and my age (!). I realized that it was taken from FaceBook and immediately deleted that info and simply added that I live in DC. Also, I was too unaware to notice that all my comments were showing up on my FaceBook page.  Took care of that, too--if somebody wants to know what I post to Charlie, then you are going to have to read his blog. For some people birthdays are important; for others, not so much. You can know my name and the vicinity in which I live; but, you better have a very good reason to know anything else about me (and, I don't lie about my age, but I think some people who don't actually know me might be unduly influenced by that knowledge). I actually learned a very great deal about the value of protecting one's privacy for its own sake from my very dear MIL. I wish the young folk could understand that, too.

Many years ago, my brother asked me, "If I go on the internet, are things going to be able to get inside my computer?" I replied, "Heck no."

Times have changed rapidly, and I suspect that 10 years from now we'll be dealing with privacy issues we haven't even dreamt of. So it's more than protecting privacy "for it's own sake," though your MIL seems very wise in having said so.

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