A Nova Scotia court has ordered a Halifax newspaper to releaseinformation about several people who posted anonymous onlinecomments to a story about alleged racism in the city's firedepartment.
The lawyer for Bill Mosher, the fire chief, and deputy chiefStephen Thurber, argued the posters made defamatory comments aboutthe two on the website of the weekly newspaper, TheCoast.
The judge ruled The Coast must release whatever detailsit has about the authors of the comments.
The case comes at a time when media outlets are already taking asecond look at anonymous online commenting. (SEESTORY: News sites rethink anonymous online comments inthe New York Times.)
Here at Dalnews, the editorial policy stipulates thatcontributors must include their first and last names, although inthe interest of lively dialogue and debate, this policy is notstrictly enforced. However, comments that include vulgar, abusive,defamatory language, libellous statements are not posted by theeditor.
Do you think news outlets, including Dalnews, shouldallow anonymous comments? When you provide comments, do you giveyour real name and email? Why or why not?
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