Hyperlocal sites tend to ban anonymous commenting

StreetFight
Many editors of news websites in small communities require that real names are attached to comments on their sites, Tom Grubisich reports. Batavian publisher Howard Owens explains, “If you have people commenting in a public forum, especially in a small community, readers have a right to know whether that’s a former elected official or somebody who works for the state senator, or just a bitter businessman that got screwed over.” StreetFight attributes the trend to hyperlocal sites’ increasing focus on growing a community of loyal unique users, rather than chasing pageviews by allowing “verbal slugfests that anonymous posters started and abetted.” || Earlier: A 5-minute framework for fostering better conversations in comments sections