Letters to the Editor
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it's going to take me a while, Locutus um, gary (huh? backtrack) Owen, yes
for a drinking song, it sounds really SOBER. i really LIKED locutus, ok, i know it wasn't "really" you, but that's how i knew you. i haven't seen you for a while and i started to worry (i worry about vets - i was afraid you were on a drunk, but no, you'd write then, wouldn't you?) it seems, instead, you were on a "sober". you see folks, me and GO here "hijacked" the thread. to calls of "Get a Room!" and i learned something. something about bravery and loyalty and differences of opinion. i was a very "righteous" draft dodger and GO is a vet. somehow he was able to talk to me sincerely and got through. i have a different idea of courage now - it's ALL ONE VIRTUE! it's really nice to see you back.
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Why allow anonymous posting?
...doesn't that sort of defeat the purpose as far as discouraging anonymous nastiness?
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From Joan Walsh
Welcome Garry Owen! It really is nice to see so many people showing up.
david sugarman, thank you for the nice words. You know I don't want to ban you. But I would like it if you posted somewhat less. You tend to dominate threads and people tune you out after a while. I believe you are trying to communicate, so that's an outcome I don't think you want. Just my two cents.
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Justification for Anonymous Posts
I never have used "Anonymous" as a signature. I use a nickname, but Salon could find me if they wanted to find me.
Under Salon's new system, "Anonymous" might be okay when people do not want Alberto Gonzales to know who they are, if they trust Salon not to tell. I would trust Salon.
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hi LBS! nice to see you back
and don't worry about people reading your old posts. did you ever read *theirs*? (and they were there, for premium, all the time). you always edit and your letters are always composed. walsh, you addressed me here, i'll respond. you have to make a decision. i am who i am. and when i post, i'm a star! (in my own world, but that's how hypomanics are). when i post i post a lot - i respond to *everyone*. it has plusses and minuses. a plus, LBS just said i made it a community. the minuses are that some, who don't like hearing me, post for the first time. no one i TALK to has objected. but i won't change. not good enough? that's ok. i'll cry for a minute, but then rationalize (i'm good at that) and say, this was really for the best. i'll get a life, finally. i don't respond to gentle pressure. i'm not socialized that well.
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I like the changes
I appreciate your work towards finding balance on this challenging issue.
I strongly believe that free speech is an essential element of an empowered society. However I'm struck by the way in which, increasingly, the anonymity of the internet seems to feed some individuals' abusive and attacking impulses, without the accountability which normally accompanies communications in "real" life.
The right to freedom of speech is in no way undermined by the expectation that individuals will take responsibility for what they say. It is, in fact, made more powerful.
Having said that, I do also appreciate the opportunity to post without needing to personally identify myself in a way that is traceable and potentially "stalk-able." The recent changes have added an element of accountability, at least within this community. Removing the option to post anonymously would be fine with me.
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Just testing ...
I'm not sure how I feel about the changes. I guess we'll have to see how it all shakes out.
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Hooray!
I stopped reading comments awhile back because the tone of the "conversations" taking place was often mean-spirited and lacking in any sense of productive discourse. I hope this changes that trend. I agree with others that anonymous posting shouldn't be an option.
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Just Posting In Order To Make Sure....
...I had renewed my registration of the "Brian" brand.
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NO to "Premium Members Only"
A couple people, early on in this thread, suggested some sort of "Premium Members Only" option. I do not get it. I do not believe it would accomplish anything good. I would stay away from it.
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Good
I stopped using my premium name because some troll hijacked it to post garbage.
Two things I would like to see, if possible:
1.) Contacting people who name-call other posters in the letters section and telling them that ad hominem attacks are not acceptable. When we vehemently disagree with something someone has written, we should not attack the poster. We should write our reasons for disagreeing with the position the poster has taken. It is really tiresome to read a letters section filled with letters attacking other people, calling them stupid and vile and disgusting. I will be on my guard to resist doing this.
2.) Not allowing a thread to become a flame war between two or three people. This is especially annoying when there are people who are posting interesting letters in between the flame war. Who wants to wade through the same people saying *the same things* over and over again? After a letterwriter has responded to or rebutted a specific poster or opinion twice, they've pretty much said it all. One may think one is engaging in "free speech", but Salon isn't run by the government. It's a privately-owned and paid-for site. Just because one is a monetary contributor doesn't give one the right to eat up bandwidth with repetitive, flame-baiting posts on the same subject. One messageboard I read recently started deleting flamewar posts and issuing warnings to repeat offenders and it has made the threads so much more interesting. It used to be that threads would devolve into flamewars between a couple of people after one page of posts. Everyone else would abandon the thread. Now, threads are clearer, more incisive, more informative and more enjoyable, as they now have three or more pages of readable, varied responses instead of one page.
I enjoy seeing how other people look at an issue and find I can learn a lot about how to write more effectively when I read other people's posts. It is such a pleasure to read reasonable letters/threads as compared to trying to find anything decent to read in between pages of "You suck, asshole/No YOU suck, you moron!"