Taking the Pulse on Anonymous Commenting
We’ve been getting more and more requests from readers to eliminate anonymous commenting. (The topic has also been on the front-burner because of a certain article this week.) There are clearly major flaws with a system that allows commenting without accountability, but doing away with it carries its own set of drawbacks in the form…
We’ve been getting more and more requests from readers to eliminate anonymous commenting. (The topic has also been on the front-burner because of a certain article this week.) There are clearly major flaws with a system that allows commenting without accountability, but doing away with it carries its own set of drawbacks in the form of diminished information flow, opinion and overall energy on the site. We’re curious to know how the community feels about the issue so please take a moment to fill out this survey and chime in below.
Thanks,
Mr. B
p.s. Just to clarify, just because you register, and comment under, a username, does not mean that your true identity is on display for the world to see. It means we can easily block a disruptive commenter, or contact him/her by email about bad behavior. It also means that other readers can begin to associate comments over time with a particular online identity, theoretically improving the ability to carry on discussions.
Biff is a kiss ass. Nothing more.
Do you remember when all he wanted was to get down Jerri Blank’s pants!!??
No WONDER he/she stopped posting. Probably freaked them out.
More Biff equals more hits equals more ad revenue for Brownstoner equals keeping this site running…thanks to everyone who’s helped contribute to that today.”
WHAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh man, chill What!! Biff, you are a narcissistic Bastard! I was going to chill but homeboy get over yourself!
If you had anything to say about the state of Real Estate or the Economy or the politics of Brooklyn then I would say OK. You and that “other genius” Dave go off about nothing. You have zip, nada and zero one this one Biff. This gets my vote for the most retarded post ever!
Narcissistic personality disorder (NPD), is a personality disorder defined by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM IV-R), the diagnostic classification system used in the United States, as “a pervasive pattern of grandiosity, need for admiration, and a lack of empathy.”[1]
The What (Oh man)
Someday this war is gonna end…
I love how people are getting all high and mighty about people getting off topic on this thread.
It’s a thread about COMMENTING.
ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING is on topic on this thread you morons!!!
To 10:48 (guest @ 10:48, not kuroko@ 10:48), I am very comfortable with the internet; I’ve posting to communities/ BBS since the late 80s and have actually designed and managed community sites. I MUCH prefer to identify people by a handle — not by their real names or professions or ages or locations, just a handle — for all the reasons stated above.
More importantly, being able to identify a posters instills a sense of “knowing” him/her and feeling part of a community. If I begin to understand opinions and associate them with people, it’s becomes easier for me to interpret future posts because I know where they are coming from. Similarly, I can easily ignore posters that are known argument baiters.
The usefulness of the Forum would be greatly improved as people make recommendations and offer things for sale or trade. How valid is a recommendation from “guest”?
If you want to remain an anonymous insider, register as anon_insider and don’t put any info in your public profile.
I’d participate a lot more if people were registered.
~ laurie
Let’s face it, the only way to ensure that there’s total accountability for posts is to require real names supported by 2 passport sized photos, a government issued ID, fingerprints, and a DNA sample.
Mere registration on its own will not stop a broker called “Pipecock”, for instance, dissing a competitively listed HOTD by misrepresenting facts or prevent a contractor from cloaked self-promotion on the site. I have zero problem with the acidity sometimes expressed here, whether it be from registered users or guests (provided it’s threat-free) and will freely admit to have engaged in it myself, usually when someone’s lack of reading comprehension begets inanity. I don’t think I’ve witnessed an on-line community, even those that require registration, where a spirited discussion doesn’t often contain an insult or two.
This latest discussion arose basically because of the re-animation of the lunatic copy/paste poster and I think application of the several tech-related suggestions above would amply deal with that problem without the need to force registration on everyone.
kingstonlounge is the voice of reason. Compare that to the vitriol from 12:55 and 12:44.
Whatever one thinks of me, we’re at 89 posts and counting here. Every comment directed to me means people are paying attention, except for 12:44 whose information intelligence team must have been comprised of the same individuals who swore there were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. More Biff equals more hits equals more ad revenue for Brownstoner equals keeping this site running…thanks to everyone who’s helped contribute to that today.
I think DaveinBedStuy and Biff Champion whacked Jerri Blank in some twisted snuff film.
Either that or Jerri is a gimp and they haven’t let him out in a while.
I think guest posts should be retained, but clearly some of the garbage needs to be filtered out. The pages-long comments of the past few days, for instance.
There are a lot of valid reasons for anonymous posts, most of which have already been enumerated. Guest posts do contribute to the rich dialog here, and there are typically as informative as the registered posts (sometimes more so, as anonymity can afford people frankness in certain circumstances).
Kedalb (post #1) has a good point about threads – a solution to which would be a threaded commenting system.
But for the most part, I’m OK with the Wild West atmosphere, so long as there is some sheriffing happening.
12:44 is exactly why I rarely bother reading comments or commenting myself.
Instead of having rational, informative discourse, the majority of comments are a mess of ad hominem attacks and lame bickering.
Removing the cover that full anonymity provides would be a step towards the amelioration of this state of affairs.