Online commentary about online comments

Posted at 3:16 PM on November 1, 2007 by Julia Schrenkler

Outside our discussion about online discussions on Gather.com, MPR received a commentary stating one possible solution to online civility issues is to require real names. Grace Kelly (I'm sure she's been hassled about that) of Saint Paul, Minn. writes:

"People speak differently when held personally accountable."

In a nice parallel twist, this quote jumps out of the live online discussion,

"I use my own name because you should be responsible for your actions."- Gary Fischbach

Alright. But I have to wonder how the perception of actions and accountability itself is changing. When I can see NSFW* party pictures of job seekers or colleagues on the Internet, does it really matter how people are perceived? Are they any more or less accountable if their legal name/face is on it or not? Read and comment on the online discussion, which is still pretty civil and interesting if you ask me.

*Really? Okay. Not Safe For Work.