Thinking and rethinking about anonymous comments

“Anonymity is just the way things are done. It’s an accepted part of the Internet, but there’s no question that people hide behind anonymity to make vile or controversial comments. I feel that this is almost like an education process. As the rules of the road are changing and the Internet is growing up, the trend is away from anonymity.”

-- Arianna Huffington, a founder of The Huffington Post.

For those (like this blog) who continue to wonder about the trade-offs and benefits of allowing anonymous posting, there is a very good discussion of current thinking in this recent article from the New York Times.[Thanks, Allan, for bringing this article to my attention.]