[Second Amendment First]

Anonymous comments, even positive ones, damage trust in the news media.

Here I thought it was biased and incompetent reporting that damaged trust in the news media. Silly me!

[stylin19a]

the media’s “confidential informants” are excluded

[rights with responsibilities]

We certainly wouldn’t want to disrupt the MSM party line

[W.]

Comments over at the article are pretty good, too. Not much love goin’ on...

[DManA]

Styfling free speech is the Left’s primary preocupation.

[DManA]

It’s harder to indict Anonymous.

[polymuser]

OK, start with DU, see how that goes...

[PapaBear3625]

The only reason one would require the real name of a poster, is so that people can retaliate against those whose postings "offend" them, and try to get the posters fired, their businesses destroyed, they families harassed, etc.

Which is why my internet presence is entirely unconnected with my real-world identity.

[kp2hot]

Media relies heavily on Anonymous quotes and Anonymous sources and opinions that are not sourced.

Comments can expose biased narrative peddled by media. Media wants monopoly over their monologues.

Too bad for media elites. Age of participatory people’s media is here to stay. There is no way to turn back the clock

[Buckeye McFrog]

They don’t seem to realize it’s the only part of their product that’s actually entertaining.

[aquila48]

Anonymous comments are the only ones that can be trusted as being truthful since the commenter has nothing to fear or gain.

[ifinnegan]

“In August 2013, the New York state legislature even debated an ambitious bill that would have required all Web site administrators to pull down anonymous comments from “social networks, blogs forums, message boards or any other discussion site where people can hold conversations in the form of posted messages.””

That’s frightening.

This is a stupid article. But that tidbit was new to me and shows there is zero understanding of or commitment to the 1st Amendment in New York.

[Travis McGee]

[tet68]

Leonard Pitts argued that anonymous comments sections “have become havens for a level of crudity, bigotry, meanness, factual inaccuracy and plain nastiness that rivals our
own efforts at propaganda.”

[null and void]

Nut-job Conspiracy Theory Ping!

To get onto The Nut-job Conspiracy Theory Ping List you must threaten to report me to the Mods if I don't add you to the list...

[sten]

without anonymity, posters on FR would be harassed at home and work.

bet on it

[wideminded]

Russia just banned anonymous WiFi and is being justly criticized for this. But isn’t the banning of anonymous comments on news sites quite similar?

[BunnySlippers]

Comment one: BINGO!

[Slings and Arrows]

tl;dr: "How can we punish dissent if we don't know who you are?"

[bmwcyle]

C-O-N-T-I-T-U-T-I-O-N, can the media spell it with me?

[cynwoody]

If a forum doesn't want anonymous comments, let them implement whatever infrastructure to vet their commenters.

If a state wishes to mandate that commmenters shall not be anonymous, then let that state be put out of its misery, through however much force and violence may be required!