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Letters to the Editor: Anonymous Comments Should Go

January 25, 2008

To The Editor:

    In personal and public statements both my wife and I have praised the fairness of Nancy Peckenham’s news website for the Cornwalls. Not only are her reports gratifyingly unbiased, they’re also professional, building as they do on her years in broadcast journalism.
    However (you must have been waiting for that), there’s a bothersome lack-of-openness problem at ‘News From Cornwall and Cornwall-on-Hudson’, not in the news reports but in the ‘Comments’…which are often crudely biting, and too often colored yellow by unsubstantiated innuendo.
    And worst of all, many of these submissions are placed online by individuals who hide behind nicknames and internet-style aliases. Not that ‘Good Ole Boy’, ‘billandmarge’, ‘cpcreative’, and ‘w2eny’ don’t have the absolute right to air their opinions.
    But there’s something that comes off as being a bit chickenhearted about concealing real identifications.  Real names would also re-assure everyone that these ‘Comments’ are not part of an underhanded smear campaign against a person or a project.
    It’s a fact that no serious publication reprints a Letter to the Editor without open identification of the author (except under very unusual circumstances) and we call on ‘News From Cornwall and Cornwall-on-Hudson’ to require the same of those who submit ‘Comments’ to what is otherwise a community resource of growing prominence.

Sincerely,

Jaci & Lee Murphy,
Hudson St.,
Cornwall-on-Hudson  


Editor's Note:   Do you agree or disagree with the observation by the Murphys?  Do anonymous comments have a place on this community website?   Comments are welcomed, but should the commentator be required to include his or hear name? 

Let us know what you think by posting your comment below or by
emailing editor@cornwall-on-hudson.   Letters will be printed here, as well.






Comments:

W2ENY is my ham radio license ID - ever hear of google, try it sometime? Then take your knife from my back.


posted by w2eny on 01/25/08 at 6:31 PM

ouch! Hit a nerve!


posted by kate benson on 01/25/08 at 7:44 PM

Well, I'm going to throw in my two cents as well. Part of what the internet is made to be is purely based off of being anonymous, so quite honestly there is little need to complain about it. Sure, of course you'll get a comment that is crude or full of innuendo, partially because teenagers from around town, such as myself, have been noted to post around here.

Quite honestly, this is nothing more than open forum and discussion, and it'd be no different than me putting a paper bag on my head and wearing a suit of body armor. Until you figured it out, you wouldn't know who I was.

And if you want to try and pull the whole "Who are you, you use an online alias" sorta stuff with me, go ahead. I'm nothing more than a 16 yr old Highschool student who, if you would do some fun little research is Matthew Smith.


So, to sum it up. I don't agree with the Murphys, I like posting in anonymity, and names are nothing more than an identification, and people should be able to disclose them when they feel it necessary.


posted by E-vile on 01/25/08 at 11:35 PM

Murphy would like nothing more than accountability to the bloggers who bash his political cronies who support his agenda. The comment page is an opinionated forum that represents all spectrums. The postings are just opinions! The Murphy's suggest that the editor should suppress the freedom of speech sounds as if the Murphy's are losing control with their outlandish agenda by wanting to suppress comments. Opinions Murphy, opinions!

And as Murphy puts it
John Buescher
Mountain rd.
Cornwall on Hudson


posted by jcbike1 on 01/26/08 at 6:08 AM

The purpose of the blog is that a person can make their opinion known with out reprecussions. This is a free country. Thank God. Not a closed state like Cuba.


posted by billandmarge on 01/26/08 at 11:10 AM

I agree with many of the above comments. C-O-H is a small village, where many people, especially politically involved ones, hold a grudge when you disagree with them. Oftentimes, viable and valuable information is put out in this forum which may be bothersome to certain individuals' agendas. The residents of this sleepy village need to wake up and see what's going on. If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem.


posted by Geezer12518 on 01/26/08 at 1:00 PM

Well, as a 30+ year resident of C-on-H as well as New York City?and an admirer of fine journalism?I would note that there are reasons why anonymous statements made in public places are eschewed by the best quality publications. It?s not unlike why an anonymous accusation?without any evidence or reason?can do so much damage to someone who may well be right on in his or her observation about the topic.
A free society does not profit from irresponsible or unfounded comments but only from the best interchange of ideas with full debate among the parties. Our community has several vociferous members with whose ideas I disagree, but I have always learned from their statements?and the following examination our citizens give to them right out there in the open.
The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and many of our best other newspapers do not allow anonymous letters except in extraordinary circumstances. We should take note of that. Whether or not we agree with The Murphy?s positions or those of their neighbors who accuse them for whatever reasons, they deserve to know their accusers. Our court system work that way?why not our information sources as well? Without attribution we abet slander and squander responsible debate.
Lee Murphy?s request for accountability is entirely reasonable?whether I agree with any of his other ideas or not?and I encourage our new on-line reporter to give her opinion in support of this.

Kirkpatrick MacDonald


posted by Supporter on 01/26/08 at 10:35 PM

I don't have a need, like some, to have my face and name in the spotlight each day.

Nancy - this site is a great resource and I praise your efforts. Leave the full name discloser letter writers to the censors and controllers to decide which and what they will print.

If you don't like the prices at Starbucks, don't go there.


posted by w2eny on 01/27/08 at 10:38 AM

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