Online comments are frustrating. One of the better rules of the internet is “don’t read the comments.” Most often, it seems, comments are either useless or tangential to the topic of the main piece. Sometimes, comments are outright hostile, purposefully racist and/or sexist or simply mean with no redeeming information or opinion offered. In those cases, having a comment section at all seems like an awful idea. The promise of comments, though, is why they continue to exist. At their best, comments sections in news publications offer a forum for interaction and conversation informed by a shared knowledge of the topic of the article or op-ed being commented upon. Losing the opportunity for good interaction would be unfortunate. And so, ultimately, comments sections will continue to exist. What we should do away with are anonymous comments.
The Cavalier Daily has a moderated comments section for which one must sign in via Disqus, Facebook, Twitter or Google. Using Disqus, Twitter or Google will allow the person to comment anonymously if they have set that particular account up that way. On the one hand, as I’ve written about in a previous column, anonymity potentially allows students, staff and faculty to comment on issues specific to the University without fear of reprisal. However, if one wishes to comment anonymously to a newspaper one can also send a letter to the editor (they still exist) or send an email from any free email service by creating a new account.
I’m under no illusion that having people attach their real name to their comments in The Cavalier Daily will suddenly create a polite, thoughtful, careful discussion of the important issues of the day with no hyperbole, name-calling or straw man arguments. I’ve seen enough Facebook threads to know better than that. I do think that having a name attached will make people think again before posting, though. In a very unscientific reading of a couple hundred comment threads on The Cavalier Daily website, it seems like the more people involved who chose not to be anonymous, the more interesting and informative the discussion.
There is also the uncomfortable fact that many choose to hide their identity while specifically dismissing the individual stories or opinions of the students writing in The Cavalier Daily or outright attacking those people. Certainly the articles and op-eds in The Cavalier Daily are open to criticism. I spent most of the previous academic year critiquing what The Cavalier Daily published. But the more I think about it and read the paper and the comments, the more I feel like people who wish to comment should have the confidence in their convictions to put their name next to their comments.
As a recent example, Victoria Moran wrote a column, “Treading water,” published online on September 8, about her experience with the culture of sexual objectification on Grounds and how exhausting it is to have to live in it as a young woman. The column is fantastic. If I don’t convince you that comments should not be anonymous, please let me convince you to read that column. She wrote from her own experience and connected it to the larger community at the University. She grappled with the incredibly difficult balancing act she has to live every day. It’s one of the better pieces The Cavalier Daily has had on the topic of sexual assault and rape, and that’s saying something as sexual assault is a topic I think The Cavalier Daily staff has done a very good job with in the past year. The first couple of anonymous comments on Moran’s piece, though, are worthless. The first, from “ari,” is an overwrought ostensible critique of the column with too many SAT vocabulary words and liberal use of scare quotes intended to dismiss precisely what Moran wrote about. The second is “Wahooknows” (it could be the same person, we don’t know) agreeing with “ari” and wondering why Moran doesn’t leave town.
The Cavalier Daily does not need to protect the ability for people to remain anonymous for this kind of thing. If someone wants to offer criticism we should welcome that and if someone disagrees with a writer they’re clearly entitled to, but they should put their name next to it when they do.
Christopher Broom is the Public Editor for The Cavalier Daily. He can be reached at publiceditor@cavalierdaily.com.
