Over the past few years, it has been the policy of Wayne County Life to allow 'Anonymous' commenting on all story posts on the WCL website. During that time, some WCL followers have expressed concern over those anonymous sources. This most often occurred in accompaniment to the hotter items of discussion, such as the Hotchkiss Building in Lyons and the fate of Wayne County's curbside recycling program. Of course when there are multiple angles on an issue and one "side" or group of voices identifies themselves and others don't, there is an inclination for those stating their views under their own name to discount the opposing points. But--it can't be denied--those were good conversations partly driven by those anonymous individuals.
There has always been a controversy over the issue of anonymity online. Some folks believe that statements made should be tied to an identity, whether that means to a real name or alternatively to a "handle" or nickname. Other folks believe that anonymity is the truest form of authenticity.
Recently the allowance of anonymous commenting on WCL posts was disabled, not so much as to shut out the voices of those who were previously commenting that way, but more so to move in a direction that is closer to the prevailing standard of "Web 2.0" technologies. When WCL was first launched, it made sense to allow any sort of commenting since a great motivating factor for our contributors is encouraging people in our Wayne County communities to engage with one another, and be connected to the life of our towns and villages. Wayne County Life is still all about creating dialogue--within and without--and sharing our sense of place with the world. While anonymous commenting has been disabled, the real hope is that there will be more commenting, not less.
Several WCL followers have made it known recently that there has been some confusion as to which "Comment As:" option to select in the absence of the easy way out that the anonymous feature (incl. Name / URL) once offered. So, in order to help such would-be story responders navigate this perplexity, Wayne County Life makes two recommendations.
There has always been a controversy over the issue of anonymity online. Some folks believe that statements made should be tied to an identity, whether that means to a real name or alternatively to a "handle" or nickname. Other folks believe that anonymity is the truest form of authenticity.
Recently the allowance of anonymous commenting on WCL posts was disabled, not so much as to shut out the voices of those who were previously commenting that way, but more so to move in a direction that is closer to the prevailing standard of "Web 2.0" technologies. When WCL was first launched, it made sense to allow any sort of commenting since a great motivating factor for our contributors is encouraging people in our Wayne County communities to engage with one another, and be connected to the life of our towns and villages. Wayne County Life is still all about creating dialogue--within and without--and sharing our sense of place with the world. While anonymous commenting has been disabled, the real hope is that there will be more commenting, not less.
Several WCL followers have made it known recently that there has been some confusion as to which "Comment As:" option to select in the absence of the easy way out that the anonymous feature (incl. Name / URL) once offered. So, in order to help such would-be story responders navigate this perplexity, Wayne County Life makes two recommendations.
- Go Google. One of the easiest accounts to set up on the Internet is a Google account. If you don't already have one (you do if you use any Google products like Gmail or YouTube), then create a new Google Account here.
- If you happen to choose to avoid Google at all costs (there are a few still out there) then consider OpenID. OpenID is a great concept--it allows a person to create an online identity for authenticating on websites, such as commenting on WCL, without it necessarily being tied to any other service. Sign up for an OpenID here.
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Gil Burgess Said,
Good idea!
Posted on Sun Mar 11, 11:34:00 PM EDT
Videomark Said,
I second that. Mark De Cracker
Posted on Mon Mar 12, 07:58:00 AM EDT
John M. Zornow Said,
The right thing to do.
Anonymous
Posted on Wed Mar 14, 02:06:00 PM EDT