Brenda Konkel has been talking a lot lately about the way local media allows comments on their webpages, and she is pushing for them to require users to log in with their “real name.” While I totally understand where she is coming from, I still had this to say in response to a post she made at Forward Lookout:
How do we determine if a name is considered “real” or not? ’cause the best way for me personally to be anonymous would be to post under the name my parents gave me….most, if not all, of the people I know (at work and at play) truly do call me “Penquin”
My comment is based on real-life experiences. I never hear “Saw you in the paper” from my pals and co-workers when I have a letter-to-the-editor published (in fact, a buddy once started quoting a letter he had read on the editorial page, not knowing it was written by me!), but I get all kinds of responses from pals whenever an internet comment from moi is published in the physical-newspaper. (This is my recent comment that got ink.)