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Huffington Post ends commenter anonymity

theguardian.com

1–10 of 47 posts

Re: Huffington Post ends commenter anonymity

#4

> She said: "Trolls are just getting more and more aggressive and uglier and I just came from London where there are rape and death threats." What?

Man held after banknote campaigner receives rape threats on Twitter

Police say man arrested on suspicion of harassment offences, after shadow minister criticises Twitter's response to abuse

http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2013/jul/28/man-arrested-...

Re: Huffington Post ends commenter anonymity

#6
>I just came from London where there are rape and death threats

This is wrong on so many levels. Yes, anonymity gives people a wider range of expression and some use it badly. Did she stop to consider those that use it for good? Say goodbye to comments such as "I work for the government and I see so much waste everyday" or "I'm secretly gay, and here are some reasons why I don't feel safe coming out". We might as well ban driving because there was a horrific accident in London last month.

Re: Huffington Post ends commenter anonymity

#7
>"I feel that freedom of expression is given to people who stand up for what they say and not hiding behind anonymity."

Only a privileged person can think like this. So what happens to all the people who live in places where sharing a conflicting opinion can get them in trouble? I say that as if USA is not of those places, but lately....

Re: Huffington Post ends commenter anonymity

#8
I really hope that we can figure out this whole "people being absolutely terrible on the internet" thing.

A lot of people say that it's just because this is how people really are, but I'm not convinced. I know for a fact that I'm a lot ruder on the internet than I'd ever want to be in real life, regardless of consequences. I've found that "real name" policies help (not necessarily forcing a real name, but at least trying to encourage it, while still allowing for pseudo-anonymity).

The stuff that's happened in the gaming community is disconcerting too

Re: Huffington Post ends commenter anonymity

#9
post #3

How much effort will they put into assuring you will sign up with your real identity? Any info on that?

It's nonsense. What can she possibly do? Make you create an account with the government, verify your SSN & Tax ID and then you post comments with your legal name? By that point someone else will just make a mirror of Huffpost; scraping the content and allowing anonymous comments... or even more likely people just won't bother with HuffPost anymore.

Re: Huffington Post ends commenter anonymity

#10
post #8

I really hope that we can figure out this whole "people being absolutely terrible on the internet" thing. A lot of people say that it's just because this is how people really are, but I'm not convinced. I know for a fact that I'm a lot ruder on the internet than I'd ever want to be in real life, regardless of consequences. I've found that "real name" policies help (not necessarily forcing a real name, but at least tr…

It's not just the internet.

What's going to happen on HuffPo when the nasty comments don't go away? Use the State to bludgeon the offensive speakers? Where will that end?

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