And thank you for posting it, sir (or madam)!

Today was an epic day for Salon on the theme of “Anonymity and the Internet”. There was the Broadsheet-Sierra news and thread, there was this editorial it provoked, and you can’t have missed the drama unfolding in Since You Asked. Over there, a letter-writer who blogged got outed, having provided enough details in her letter to Cary Tennis for the curious to Google it down. A trainwreck of truly legendary proportions.

Anonymity on the Internet creates a consequence-free zone. I’m convinced now that anytime you create a consequence-free zone, Greater Internet Fuckwads are what you get as a byproduct, if not a coproduct.

I think as a principle, most Salon readers would agree that opposing our current or any government creating a consequence-free zone for themselves is one of the principal concepts that draws us together here. From that perspective Salon tries to be all about accountability for consequences in the majority of its content, does it not?

But then the letters section is mostly a consequence-free zone. Here and there it’s plucked by the unseen hand when things get really egregious. But the boundary appears wide indeed, and often seems arbitrary to the observer even though it may not be to the editor. It’s kind of a glaring contrast.

I don’t see how holding letter-writers accountable for their words is out of compatibility with holding anybody else accountable for their words. Thus I don’t see Salon implementing features like that as being untrue to its core principles. Perverse logic, no?

I believe teh intarwebz, they are a-changin’. There will certainly always be consequence-free zones to be found for those who want or even need them. Sure, if you absolutely must (and what was it you did to fulfill this need in the Dark Ages before the Internet?), go find one and talk about whatever you want in anonymity. Use whatever terms you want. Break the boundaries, go all out.

But where’s the compelling reason that has to go on at Salon specifically? Is Salon the heroic last bastion against the oncoming darkness of personal responsibility? Good gawd, I hope not!

My own hope is that the Internet in the main is evolving out of being a consequence-free zone. Legions of users are learning that what they say, do, and display online can have real-world effects when it’s tied back to them, as with the unfortunate Since You Asked letter-writer today.

People are even coming around to the concept that actual consequence is actually a desired state of affairs in a functioning online society. People like bloggers and Salon are learning that there’s not much to be gained from allowing their own consequence-free zones created by anonymous postings. Turning down the bad is not necessarily connected to turning down the good.

I am very heartened, Ms. Walsh, at your word that these changes are on the way. I look forward to seeing it. Trollspray, as another poster put it. Plus, if it doesn’t work out—the consequences being found unacceptable--you can always change it back! The Internet’s good like that! ;)