Read Write Web reports on the dangers of posting when you think you’re doing so anonymously. Only last month, courts ordered anonymous commenters to pay big fines to women who they defiled using vulgar, derogatory remarks on an internet forum. And previously, an anonymous blogger in the modeling industry was forced to reveal her identity after numerous malicious posts about a colleague showed up on her blog. Now, a nasty comment cost someone their job—and with internet speed.
In the comments section of an online newspaper article, one user posted a single word response—one that isn’t improper in itself, but in the context of the article, it’s slang usage was offensive. Of course, the site’s moderators quickly deleted the comment but it soon reappeared - obviously this person was intent on having their say.
The site’s director of social media, found that the commenter’s IP address was coming from a local school. Thinking that he’d teach some kid an important lesson in netiquette, he contacted the school, only to find out it was not a kid, but an adult who worked there. When confronted, the employee resigned.
The lesson here? There’s no such thing as true anonymity on the net these days, and thanks to new technologies like Facebook Connect, the days where you can hide behind a made-up web handle may be numbered. In fact, Facebook itself may even owe its success to how it forces users to post with their “real” name and identity notes blogger Kent Newsome. “With a name comes accountability, and there is a direct correlation between accountability and behavior,” he writes.
So, as Read Write Web summed it up in their article’s title, “Leaving a Vulgar Comment Online Might Cost You Your Job”.
Tags: Internet Speed