Poll: Anonymous posting mode

Do we want the ability to post anonymously on TALK ?

It looks like its in the road map of Discourse (The system that runs TALK), This is a feature that can be turned on or off so we get a choice.

Anonymously posting definitely aligns with out anarchy roots, but required login does reduce the amount of abuse that happens, and maybe makes TALK a nicer place. I am willing to give it a try and if there is a problem we can remove the feature.

What do you think?

  • Allow for anonymously posting
  • Don’t allow anonymously posting

*Note: This is a votable poll in the web interface.

The great part about anonymous posting is that if the experiment ends up failing, people can anonymously request that it get taken down!

1 Like

Will anonymous posting expose TALK to automated spam bots?

I think this would be a great experiment! Maybe just enable it on a particular section?

I have no fear that Talk will turn into 4chan… I hope.

Probably, Talk has good spam control already

Has someone expressed a need to post anonymously?

Personally I like the sense of community that comes from knowing who is posting.

It allows me to get a sense of where this person is coming from.

Mark

In some of the relatively recent email flamewars being able to post
anonymously would probably have helped to make things less personal. I also
saw someone (post talk move) cancel on a meeting for fear of being
identified as someone who posted something sketchy.

I’m gonna come out and say that I think this is not a good idea. Anonymity and the internet have a strong history of non-excellence.

Talk is working well, we have a great community going. If it ain’t broke…

8 Likes

I concur:

3 Likes

Well… talk is pseudonymous in its current configuration; anyone can sign up for a new account with a throwaway email to post whatever they want. Enabling anonymous posting simply removes that small barrier. I’m sorta in favor of keeping the signup requirement because it acts as an “importance” filter, which hopefully acts to discourage some of the… less… productive anonymous talk.

4 Likes