Trip-Trap the Comment Trolls are Back
There’s a nasty little trolling campaign going on against Pippa Wagstaff, of Miss Wagstaff presents. That’s the second contributor here coming under different attacks in about 3 weeks from completely different sources - hence my decision to comment here.
These trolls are always ironic; this one meets their own charges far better than Miss W. But it raises two questions:
- What should our attitude be to people who don’t reveal their full identity on their blog?
- How do libel laws apply to blogs?
My view of Anonymity
My position on pseudonymity in blogs is this:
- Exactly the same standards should apply in the blogosphere as elsewhere in the media.
- There are certain reasonable grounds for anonymity.
- It is perfectly possible to maintain a consistent pseudonymous identity, using tools such as OpenID logins that cannot be easily faked by third parties. That is sufficient to present and maintain a coherent and consistent argument.
- If anonymity in the blogosphere is to be removed, then the same must be done across the media.
