February 21, 2004The single most retrograde contribution of weblogs to society -- if you call this society -- is the ability for weblog readers to leave anonymous comments. Worse than silly overanalysis, worse than the light-speed propagation of false rumors, anonymous commenting leaches self-respect from a struggling new medium.
Webloggers who remain anonymous are one thing -- it's anyone's prerogative to set up shop and become a participant at their own website. Sure we'll never know what ties or biases they have; we can live with that, and besides, plenty of people writing under their own names have undisclosed ties. There are reasons sufficient enough to make the case for that sort of anonymity. (Years ago, I used to write anonymously on the internet. Why? Didn't want to lose my job, for starters, but also I was experimenting. I didn't know what I was doing, frankly.)
But anonymous comments actually encourage shitty behavior. It allows people to say things they'd be ashamed to say to anyone's face. It's one thing to be a bitch all day under your own name -- that goes on your permanent record. It's entirely another thing to drop into someone's website and leave off-hand and off-topic, and misguided or slanderous bullshit. We never have the opportunity to know whether those comments are the result of a personal grudge, or a drunken night out, or worse, that the person commenting anonymously is someone we otherwise trust at their own website or elsewhere in the world.
So, stop allowing nasty people to add unnecesary conflict to the internet experience. Just because we have technology to allow commenting doesn't mean it should be indulged. Let all those nasty people send anonymous hate via email, the old-fashioned way.
If people want to join in the discussion, let them get their own webspace. Believe me, any idiot can set up a website, I'm living proof.
