Banning pseudonyms online NO: It's wrong and ineffective
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Aug 18, 2012 - ST Forum
MR LESLIE Fong ("The rightful slaughter of Three-Legged Chicken"; Monday) asserts that the high quality of public discussions achieved by the ban on pseudonyms in The Straits Times can be transferred to online forums by doing the same.
However, the Internet is a different medium: It has a larger user base and is uncensored; so undesirable remarks in online forums are inevitable.
Such remarks exist in newspapers, but are not published due to the editors' strict moderation.
I am certain that ST editors have seen many contributions featuring offensive as well as nonsensical remarks; letters that have rightly remained unpublished.
So it is unfair to solely attribute the use of derogatory and biased remarks to the anonymity in online pseudonyms; instead, blame it on the lack of tactful third-party moderation on the Internet.
It is inequitable to remove the freedom that online anonymity offers to users for the exclusive purpose of improving the quality of online discussions.
Although offensive racial and religious remarks should not be tolerated, forcing forum users and bloggers to bear the risk of harsh online condemnation will undoubtedly diminish the vibrance of online discussion platforms.
This is especially true for individuals with controversial views. Such users, who are already assuming pseudonyms, must endure the torrent of personal abuse directed towards them by dissatisfied readers.
Stripping pseudonyms used by offensive commentators does little to deter them.
For instance, the offensive remarks posted by 24-year-old Chinese national Wang Peng Fei last year and pastor Rony Tan in 2010 were not done anonymously.
Instead, banning pseudonyms alienates those who possess critical insight but are daunted by the prospect of baring their identities to public scrutiny.
Having the moral courage to express one's views only reflects one's moral courage per se, and does not equate to a learned and sensible argument.
So slaughtering (the online) Three-Legged Chicken will only result in the regression of the quality of comments and the restriction of the freedom that the Internet has come to symbolise.
Lim Wei-Qi
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ban on pseudonyms will undoubtedly lead to angst of the public
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whatever they do internet is the wild side of life.
