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.
Dave – A 51 year old who lives in Bed Stuy. Hedge fund queen with a lover in Philadelphia (but they “see” other people)
Biff – A middle aged wanna be queen, with a wife and kids (clearly spends little time with either) living in Brooklyn Heights with I’m guessing zero friends.
And THAT’S why I don’t want to register.
And you just managed to do both in the same post, Biff @ 12:38.
11:47, “Daveinbedsty, biff champion, and jerri blank hijack posts all the time and take them off topic and offend me with thier sexist conversations.”
12:16, “Biff – You take this website WAAAAAAAAY too seriously.”
In an amazing display of versatility, in 29 minutes I went from being off topic to being too serious with the topic.
BTW, they still fighting over on that thread. And it has my favorite Brownstoner comment all time: “NO BOBY KNOWS HOW MARIES SON MARK COULDN’T WAIT TO RUMN TO THE HOUSE AFTER AN NIES DEATH AND TAKE THE CAT WITH THE CLOCK IN ITS STOMACH.”
I just wanted to jump back in here and say that sometimes the most “inside” info comes from people who are not regulars and are interested in just one thread. At times they wish to remain anonymous. I’d hate to miss out on their posts. (Though sometimes it gets kinda crazy, as with that fascinating thread about the nephew kicking out the old ladies on Cheever Place.)
i can’t stand biff or dave. i skip their comments whenever possible. glad to know others feel the same
the anonymity makes it easier to generally dislike everyone, rather than having to remember specifically who is annoying. seems like thats the way people here would prefer it to remain…
I also tend to skip registered comments. It’s always the SAME type of argument or information. It’s more fun and even informative, I’d say, to read the guest comments.
“They have no ownership or accountability for what they say and there’s no way to track the history of their posts”
Biff calm down. If you take the comments on this site seriously then you need some help my friend. Take it from me! I been attacked numerous times and have the moxie to ignore it
“I have no idea if they’ve ever behaved civilly or added anything to any discussion. It’s so easy to be a guest and put others down without having to defend oneself. That’s why I prefer people register.”
But I will say this: Sometimes you have nothing to say. No causes or anything relevant to the topic. Plus Biff please don’t go off on me because I will not respond to them.
The What
Someday this war is gonna end…