Anonymity and Vitriol
The Pantagraph Comments Section Aka: You Don’t Know My Name, So I Can Post What I Want For several years, this subject has been a thorn in my side. If you are a regular reader (or even a casual one) of The Pantagraph on-line, you’ve likely come across the comments section after most articles. And if you are at all like me, you are appalled at the hatred displayed in some of the blatant vitriol allowed. In my case, the comments I found most disconcerting were concerning bicycles, Obama, LBGT rights, college sports, politics and politicians, climate change, traffic in BloNo, …..apparently just about any subject is ripe for targeting with foul comments. I believe one of the biggest factors enabling these comments is Lee Enterprises (The Pantagraph’s parent company) policy of allowing complete anonymity for the commenters. This policy allows individuals to post things that I cannot imagine any civil person uttering to a fellow human in today's society. Apparently I am not alo