The Huffington Post will require posters to post with their real names starting next month.
I've posted over at the Huff Post for several years. Until their switchover to AOL, they were actually a great place for political news, but the shift to infotainment and bloggers just parroting news links has made them less required reading than they used to be.
But the death knell may have just been sounded. Starting in September, they'll become "Cheers" and require their posters to post with their real names. Editor Jimmy Soni told CNN the idea was to promote "civil discourse."
"We're looking to promote civil discourse on our site. We want to do what we've always done: promote a positive, healthy community at our global news website. We feel like it reflects the maturing internet and our maturing website."
He didn't say in an interview how they'll make users post their real names or how to prevent aliases (which, of course, they can't).
It's a stupid idea for several reasons. The obvious reason is the small percentage (depending on the website) of people who act crazy or can't behave no matter what. I guess Huff thinks they'll get people in line that way.
So far the reaction has been overwhelmingly negative. Surprise, surprise.
I can live without posting at the Huff Post. It's not the political discussion area it used to be, anyway. It's more of a politics for the uninformed area now.
But I doubt they're going to be starting a new trend, though. Posters aren't the news or shouldn't be.
And the Huff Post isn't "Cheers" -- where everybody knows your name -- after all.