Most news sites, forums etc., often allow anonymous user comments which many unfortunately include nasty, hateful, cowardly, racist, comments. Now some sites are forcing people to register with an email, username, and sometimes even your city and phone number.

Comments like the following, has prompted a Buffalo, New York newspaper to no longer allow anonymous comments as of August 3.

"I hate what you people, and by that I mean the blacks, are doing to this city," wrote one Buffalo News reader last month in response to a story about a local shooting. "Each area you move too [sic] quickly becomes over run [sic] with crime, loud music [at] all hours, adults swearing and screaming at kids, children playing in the street, porches with beer and garbage thrown all around."

Being allowed to remain anonymous encourages people to say what they want, how they want without a second thought, not that there's anything wrong with that, but of course you'll always get the cowards who prefer not to give any information so they can spew their garbage without having to reveal anything about themselves.

"By allowing anonymous comments, you're going to get things and information that otherwise would not come to light," said media lawyer Robert Bertsche, who represents the New England Newspaper & Press Association. This guys thinks that, "for example, if a commenter is working at a company where criminal activity is taking place, there's great social value in that person speaking out -- and they're far less likely to do so if they can't post anonymously, he said". That's fair enough I suppose but as with everything else, there are always a few 'tards that will take advantage and ruin it for everyone else. What's new, the 'tards are everywhere, ya just gotta live with 'em.

So what do you do regarding news sites and forums? Do you sign up in order to leave a comment if you feel strong enough about a subject or are you just an anonymous poster ? Are you one of those cowardly 'tards that go off at the mouth and say things you wouldn't normally say because you can remain anonymous? Come on now, be honest, you know who you are

Clicky for the whole article.