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Once again, the Web works its magic in mysterious ways. I had just completed posting a comment on a favorite blog - and yes, I signed my real name - when I read about a discussion at a Digital Hollywood conference that focused on Internet comments.

The man in charge of the Washington Post’s online division told the audience he’d like to see technology ride to the rescue to get rid of trolls and flame-throwing commenters on the newspaper’s blogs. Jim Brady was describing the aftermath of what happened two years ago when the newspaper’s ombudsman erred on a political story. Hundreds of commenters high on conspiracy theory fumes blasted the website, and many were very nasty, so Brady shut down all comments. The resulting furor made its way to other websites and forums, and many there accused him of trampling on free speech.

On the contrary, says Brady. He just wants a civil discussion, and anonymity doesn’t help the cause. Maybe some form of identity authorization - credit cards? drivers licenses? - would do the trick, he argued:

“I think part of the problem is that people aren’t held accountable on the Web,” Brady said. “People say things online they would never say when disagreeing with someone at the dinner table. I think heated debate is fine, but when there are (flame wars), many people won’t take part for fear they will be attacked and bashed over the head with the (Internet-equivalent) of a steel pipe.”

Allow me to mangle a famous New Yorker cartoon caption: on the Internet, no one knows you’re an angry rabid dog.

This topic has made its way to several technology-oriented blogs in recent weeks, but it calls to my mind the debate that raged in May 2007 when blogger Kathy Sierra went public about anonymous death threats she had received. For Sierra, it was about the treatment of women online; she called for the blogosphere to deal with the issue via a code of conduct. Allowing nasty types to wrap themselves in the First Amendment, she said, denigrates that right.

You may have had a serious yet enjoyable forum discussion interrupted by a troll and it may have completely turned you off that particular website. Such is the danger of unmoderated speech online. The proverbial “wisdom of the crowds” is supposed to take care of this kind of thing. Indeed, commenters on this subject point to how Slashdot and Digg handle unruly debate through public moderation of forums.

Technology in the form of software that seeks out banned words/phrases will probably be the easy way out for many websites. Too bad; moderation by crowd or website proprietor - powered by human judgement, not code - would be the best way to keep the loud, rude minority from ruining things for the rule-abiding majority. Such is the wonder of a truly democratic Internet.

Read [News.com]

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