Editorial: Online comments need name checks

Yelling at the television is so last century. You might still shake your fist or utter some… Yelling at the television is so last century. You might still shake your fist or utter some harsh words when that politician you love to hate pops up on the tube, but today there’s another option. Find your favorite political blog or a recent news article featuring said politician, and let your caustic comments run loose. Don’t worry. It’s anonymous.

The ability to comment on online videos, articles and photographs is as ubiquitous in the digital world as commercials are on TV. Ideally, commenting provides a practical forum for feedback from anyone who happens to come across your tricycle tricks video or online journal entry. But those anonymous comments can get rather scathing, and in some instances, commenting anonymously has led to legal problems and lawsuits.

Now, some news sites are changing their commenting policies. They and other papers are getting rid of the option to comment anonymously and are instead requiring that people register and give some information about themselves before they’re allowed to comment, The New York Times reports. Comments on any site about an article or video can be insightful and beneficial, but more often they’re needlessly scathing and requiring a commenter’s identification could help control the chaos stemming from online comments. Still, nixing anonymity might prevent viewers from sharing honest thoughts. Those thoughts, however, could still be presented in a way that’s candid yet not so characteristically cruel and crude.

News sites opposing anonymous comments are concerned about more than just swaths of vulgar language and obnoxious comments — although those are hardly attractive on any professional site. Comments can get quite controversial and raise legal concerns. The Plain Dealer, a Cleveland newspaper, recently traced anonymous comments about a local lawyer to a judge who was overseeing some of his cases. The judge denied leaving the comments on the paper’s website and is suing The Plain Dealer for violating her privacy, The New York Times reports. Additionally, two Yale students settled a lawsuit last year against people who anonymously posted deprecatory comments about them on a website for graduate students, according to The Chronicle of Higher Education.

By requiring a username and some background info, sites can more easily control comments and delete users who leave inappropriate or otherwise improper comments. Some sites have personnel constantly scanning or prescreening comments to deter bigoted or objectionable comments. That’s one solution, but it requires significant manpower and time.

News sites have more to be concerned about than the range of zany YouTube videos that receive comment after comment of degrading feedback. But the problem isn’t limited to news sites, and neither is the solution — that is, reducing anonymity. As much as this effort might tone down some of the nastiness anonymous commenting lends itself to, there’s more at stake than hurt feelings.