A Note To "Anonymous" Commenters

I have tried to make it clear to anyone wanting to comment on this blog (and I do love comments, whether you agree or disagree with me) that I will delete all comments that come from "anonymous". I say that both on this page, and on the comments page. But every now and then I still get comments from "anonymous", and I delete them.

Recently I got a comment from one of these anonymous commenters that called me a coward for not posting anonymous comments. I found that to be very humorous. I give readers my honest opinion, and I always attach my real name to anything I have to say. You may not agree with what I have to say (and that is OK), but you know exactly who is saying it. To me, a person who is too ashamed or too afraid to put their name (or at least an internet pseudonym) to their comment is the real coward. After all, how hard is it to create and use an internet pseudonym?

Why do I not have a problem with a pseudonym? I understand that some people might wish to keep their real name off the internet. Using a pseudonym though allows me to distinguish a valid comment from spam (most of which is sent as "anonymous"). It also lets other readers (and me) know where the person is coming from -- by connecting that pseudonym to other comments made using it on this blog, or similar blogs.

Why do I moderate comments and delete those from "anonymous"? The main reason is to give me an easy way to eliminate spam. As I said, most spammers comment as "anonymous", and I don't have the time or desire to wade through all comments to figure out which are spam and which are not. And I admit that I don't feel too bad that this also eliminates the comments of a few people too afraid to even use a pseudonym -- people who cannot follow simple instructions (and are usually trolls anyway).

Anonymous commenters may not like my guidelines for commenting -- but this is my blog, and that's the way it is, both now and in the future.

NOTE -- This post is only meant to pertain to people wishing to comment anonymously on this blog -- and should not be construed to include the organization called ANONYMOUS (which I have a great deal of respect for).

(The image above is from the website screened.com.)