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01/04/2002 Entry: "4-Jan-2002 -- WebWord Comment"

WebWord Comment -- Something interesting happened on WebWord today. Two comments were posted by "JS" for this weblog entry. The first was a regular posting, but the second posting was a comment about the first comment. Sounds like a typical situation, right? One person writes something and another person responds. However, in this case, there was a twist. As it turns out, two different people posted comments on WebWord as "JS". Unfortunately, there is no way around this issue (at least with Greymatter running). Any person could easily post comments as "JS" and they could even use a bogus email address to "validate" the posting. In effect, someone could spoof the identity of JS or any other person and the users of this site would not have any clue. This is very frustrating. Off the top of my head, I can think of three ways around this problem: (1) Set up a registration system with unique IDs and passwords (like Slashdot) which means moving away from Greymatter, (2) Display user IP addresses when they post, or (3) Do not allow users to post comments. The first solution is bad because it means moving away from Greymatter. The second solution is bad because of privacy concerns. The third solution is as bad as the first solution. In effect, these solutions are not real solutions. I've rambled on enough. The bottom line is that this is a concern here and other places online. I'm curious what you think about this. It is an interesting yet frustrating topic.

Replies: 6 comments

(4) you could ask people to use their real name, instead of psuedonyms, handles, and masquarade-ball masks.

Not every security solution needs to be technological.

Posted by Eric Scheid @ 01/05/2002 12:37 AM EST

And how would you enforce it, Eric? You could *ask*, but you can't *make* them do it.

(There, I've just posted using my nickname, but I've never pretended to be anyone else or said anything defamatory, etc.)

Posted by MadMan @ 01/05/2002 12:43 AM EST

I would much prefer the site run slashcode for a Slashdot-type interface. But you'd need to disable the user moderation because we don't have enough active users to make the mod system fair.

Second best option is a login system for unique I.D.s, but with cookies to remember return users so we don't have to login each time we visit.

Posted by JS - Jack Schonchin @ 01/05/2002 01:18 AM EST

Perhaps an optional registration system would be effective? Comments made by registered users would be presented with their name as a bold link, whereas others would just be plain text.

It wouldn't eliminate the problem altogether, but if done with great care wouldn't discourage commenting either.

Oh, and please don't remove the email/homepage fields from the comments system. Signal vs. Noise doesn't include such things and so comments might as well be anonymous (even with my fairly unusual name I've been confused with other people; finally got to the top on Google though, which helps).

Posted by Matt Round @ 01/05/2002 05:48 AM EST

If Greymatter doesn't allow unique user IDs the you should consider moving to a different system. People should be able to reserve their own name for comments if they desire; it's what generates 'street cred' on the net. Many comment systems enable a unique registration. Allow anonymous postings as well - not everybody wants to fill in a form or sign their name. Do not post their IP. Not only is it a breach of privacy, it is also unreliable - many people are assigned dynamic IPs, meaning their IP changes from day to day.

Posted by Stephen Downes @ 01/05/2002 06:22 AM EST

Aiy Aiy Aiy! I think ditching slashCode was a bad move...

Posted by Anonymous Coward @ 01/06/2002 12:16 PM EST

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