Cleveland.com embraces its anonymous commenters

NetNewsCheck
While some news websites have turned to Facebook Comments and required commenters to use real names, The Plain Dealer website Cleveland.com is embracing its anonymous commenters. “I think you miss out on the full extent of the [online] medium if you block out what readers have to say,” Cleveland.com Editor In Chief Denise Polverine told NetNewsCheck. “Some news organizations feel their voice is the final voice on a subject, and that’s not the case at Cleveland.com.” That’s not to say the comments are untouched. Moderators remove offensive ones, and on sensitive stories comments may be disabled entirely. A community manager writes a note about commenters when they attain “featured user” status and quotes something they’ve posted recently. || Related: News websites see the benefits of using Facebook Comments; why people need anonymous identities on the Web. || Earlier: Plain Dealer unmasks judge as anonymous commenter; judge sues and settles with Advance Internet.