Anonymous blog comments.(LETTERS)(Letter to the editor)

Thank you for taking seriously the problem of anonymous citizens posting on newspaper Web sites (Drop Cap, February/March). I wish your article had addressed the ethics of this issue in addition to how the registration process impacts interactivity.

The standard for print journalism has always required letter writers to identify themselves in order to have their comments published (for example, I doubt you would print this letter if it came to you anonymously). On what grounds do the rules change online? Why are so many news outlets publishing defamatory, harassing or inciteful comments from anonymous writers online when they would never do so in print?

CHUCK MCKAY

English | Journalism Teacher

Nokomis Regional High

Newport, Maine

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