EDITORIAL – A letter to all those anonymous keyboard commenters

An editorial by Mel Rothenburger.

HELLO, MY NAME is Mel Rothenburger.

Pretty much every day, I express opinions on what’s going on in the world. You always know that it’s me when I do so, whether it be in editorials, columns or social media comments.

I’ve always been of the opinion that people should stand behind their convictions. Anonymous comments lose credibility. If you believe something, you should be willing to put your name to it.

Yet a lot of people don’t. They write incognito emails or make up fake names for their comments on things that are posted on this website. I understand why this is the case — they’re afraid of taking criticism for their opinions.

Yesterday, for example, I received an emailed letter on the issue of Kamloops Fire Rescue’s medical response role that made some good points. The writer didn’t provide their name “due to negative repercussions from above comments.”

I know all about repercussions. I’ve probably received more nasty comments, insults, threats and false allegations than you have. But I put my name behind what I say.

Still, I’ve been permissive when it comes to fake aliases because a lot of the comments do add some value to the discussion if they’re thoughtful and germane.

So, if someone uses a reasonable alias, or prefers to go by their first name only, I accept the comment. Recently, though, a lot of stuff has been coming in with aliases that are obviously made up on the spot or plain silly or worse.

If you signed a comment in the past few days with the pseudonym “Douk Bill” or “Manstral Cycle” or even “Calgon Take Me Away” or “Winners Don’t Use Drugs” or “No Rink” you may have noticed you haven’t been published.

That’s unfortunate because, with the exception of “Douk Bill’s” not-so-clever putdown about the Sons of Freedom, the comments were worth reading. I just think there should be a limit.

So, I’m asking this: please don’t be so shy about putting your name behind what you stand for. This website is described as “A forum on Kamloops and the world” and is meant to be a community discussion, so comments are important. If you have a genuine reason for fear of reprisal, send me a private email, with your real name, explaining why, and we can figure it out.

At the least, please pick a real name as your alias, and don’t use multiple aliases. Fair compromise?

From there, the only other guidelines I ask you to follow are my long-standing requests to avoid poor taste, insults and libel.

And, by the way, sincere thanks to the many commenters who already use their real names.

Mel Rothenburger is a regular contributor to CFJC Today, publishes the ArmchairMayor.ca opinion website, and is a recipient of the Jack Webster Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award. He has served as mayor of Kamloops, school board chair and TNRD director, and is a retired daily newspaper editor.  He can be reached at mrothenburger@armchairmayor.ca.