[IxDA Discuss] Anonymous comments

[Christina Wodtke]

I'd like to ask the list about anonymous comments. I'm sure the 
collective wisdom of the list has plumbed the question, figured out the 
fors and againsts of registration for commenting and has opinions. This 
for me is coming out of a real-world situation with Found|Read, a site 
that uses PublicSquare which requires everyone to register or log in to 
leave a comment. I am reconsidering the value of that decision.

People have complained that they have to register "just" to leave a 
comment on Found|Read however, comment *quantity* as well as quality 
went up when we switched to BoxesandArrows to PublicSquare. Found|Read 
has never see anything else but sign-in required, and its numbers are a 
fraction of GigaOm's so its comments should be the same. I've worked 
with user data for many years, especially at Yahoo and I know that you 
have to look at hard data as well as opinion and what seems logical 
isn't always true. Though it makes sense in abstract registration would 
reduce the number of comments, is it accurate? And is it a problem? Do 
you lose useful comments?

Moreover, look at the quality of anonymous comments- often defamatory, 
obscene, and ill-conceived. Kathy Seirra mess came out of anonymous 
commenting as much as anything else-- with out a channel for the 
audience to correct badly behaving members of her community, she because 
a victim of the participatory media she championed.

BTW, the registration on PublicSquare, if you haven't done it on Boxes 
and Arrows, is first name/lastname username email password twice. 
Slightly larger than the minimum but not much.

~c

-- 

Christina Wodtke
Principal Instigator
415-577-255

Magazine :: http://www.boxesandarrows.com
Business :: http://www.publicsqurehq.com
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cwodtke at eleganthack.com