In the past decade, the Internet has taken a pivotal role in society. It has effectively grown to a critical mass, resulting in a major transition for communications, to the point where many news organizations rely more on online readership than print. 

Because of this, and the normalization of social networking, readers can immediately publish comments to an article. This gives readers an opportunity to know how other readers reacted to the article and to openly discuss it. Unfortunately, comment threads have deviated from being a monumental development in communication to a lawless venue for devil’s advocates and hate spewers to run wild, abusing the first amendment until it is black and blue and read all over the Internet. If you need any tangible evidence, go look up Miley Cyrus’ “Party in the USA” on YouTube and scroll down to the comment section. 

The Sun Chronicle, a Massachusetts publication, has now implemented a 99 cent charge for online comments. This charge can only be paid with a credit card. In addition to giving the publication one’s name and address, the reader must post using the name on the credit card, removing all elements of reader anonymity. Oreste D’Arocnte, publisher for the Sun Chronicle, said that the move to stop anonymity would eliminate past excesses that included blatant disregard for guidelines, blind accusations and unsubstantiated allegations.

While the Chronicle’s decision to remove anonymity from their comments could be perceived as a violation of free speech, it is an effective way to purge the site from abusive comments. Those who hide behind the veil of anonymity to abuse free speech are not likely to pay the fee, and will probably comment elsewhere. With all users now using their full name, they will be accountable for what they say. For most politically or socially active citizens, attaching their name to their beliefs should not present problems, and by using their names, they are representing themselves – a cornerstone of any democracy.

This is not about censoring unpopular opinions. The Chronicle gives readers the ability to comment on articles for approximately the same price as a Sunday edition. It’s as simple as this – if individuals are not willing to own up to their beliefs, they should not be commenting on articles.