Reader Poll: Yes or No to Anonymous Comments

I would personally love to see the anon crap disappear and have the hiding stop. That being said, there would probably be less honesty to some extent and definitely a lot less funny comments, but would build a better site.

If you have the gall to comment, have the balls to identify yourself.

If you're afraid your candor will dissuade a prospective employer from hiring you, back up your opinion with your own stellar personal work.

The good ones out there
can take your critique, as long as it comes from those who can back up their rhetoric.

In Dizzy Dean's words, "It ain't bragging if you can back it up."

@Gregg, so it's your take that it's a reader's responsibility to act upstanding, rather than ours to impose house rules?

Haters gonna hate, douchers gonna douche.

If you have something negative to say, have the balls to put your name on it. That goes for positive feedback as well, which, unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be nearly enough of these days.

I don't think it's the Egotist's responsibility to be the etiquette police, but it's your site, so it's your call. You could always try it on a temporary basis and see what happens.

Ditto what Gregg said.

I am a huge proponent of banning anonymous commenting. For a variety of reasons:

- We will know who the trolls are
- People will be more constructive, not just negative
- People will be more respectful
- This site will be a whole lot more enjoyable to visit

And another thing- verify the email to make the account active.

@inorganik, Won't it knock off the edges? We're not that warm and fuzzy.

I think anonymous commenters are silly. At the same time, forcing people to register for an account in order to comment seems draconian too.. why not try out a service like disqus which makes it easy for people to post comments via whatever they've already registered for (fb, twitter, etc) ?

Honest questions, though it might sound cunty.

If you take away anonymous postings, does this mean you guys who post under the blanket Denver Egotist username will use your real names?

Can't you just delete unconstructive comments?

@denveregotist I don't think so. Have you read my comments? :)

@Seth, While we'd love to use Disqus, it doesn't integrate well with the current setup — which ties logged in commenters to their user profile on the site. We like that readers click through to the member profiles of people who take the time to log in and comment. It's good exposure for people who comment intelligently — and leads to them getting work.

gotcha. and yeah see..I didn't even realize that if I had logged in first, it would tie to my profile ;)

@denveregotist It's the reader's responsibility to validate his/her critique with some measure of authenticity. If you suck, don't tell me I suck.

@denveregotist One more thing.

On the issue of whether you guys (gals?) should pull back your own veil of anonymity, I think you have proven your level of taste over the years. I personally am comfortable with you working in the shadows.

Double standard? Perhaps. But really, in my book, it's all about validating opinions -- instead of spewing anger. Anger that may have its roots in hackism int he first place.

But that's another conversation.

@Gregg, Yeah, unfortunately we're not debating that one. Though a double standard it may be.

I absolutely think anonymous commenting has to go. The site won't go soft. But I think criticism will be more constructive. Instead of "this design sucks" I would expect to see more comments like "I think a simpler typeface would have helped this layout."

I'd love to see commentary accountability without losing raw honesty. As the anonymity debate rages on, here's my favorite ironic shout-out rant to the elusive Mr./Ms. Anonymous from Mark St. Amant:

". . . and, finally, I learned that of all the amazing new local creative talents to emerge this year, there is one whose every syllable mesmerized me, weaving an elaborate tapestry of razor sharp, honest, oftentimes dystopian satire that helped shape the very culture of our industry. An almost otherworldly talent I'd feel perfectly comfortable including in the pantheon of history's greatest social/literary practitioners from Charles Dickens, Jonathan Swift and Mark Twain, to David Foster Wallace, and Christopher Hitchens, and Richard Pryor, to Lenny Bruce, Chris Rock, Stephen Colbert, Matt Groening, Matt Stone and Trey Parker. And whether waxing poetic on the sweeping social changes taking place throughout the world, or exposing the hypocrisy and lust for power that rots the minds of "dinosaur, washed-up" Creative Directors, or simply saying a particular ad campaign "sucked big, fat donkey balls" and that its creator is "an arrogant loser hack who's [sic] work hasn't been worth shit since 2002" and "should be fired so I can have there [sic] job," this advertising visionary known only as Anonymous — right here in the Comments section of the Egotist — deserves our special praise and thanks. Holding court from a veritable Algonquin Mom's Basement, most likely pantsless at times, Anonymous selflessly broadened our minds, challenged our most sacred conventions, and never failed to masterfully craft new uses of words like "asshat," “fucktard,” and "douchenozzle" that both surprised and delighted. Kudos, Anonymous — you were the real hero this year."

ban anonymous comments. please. i am honest & share constructive criticism when i feel appropriate.

& designers go soft & fuzzy? ha! good one.

From a business perspective, will taking away the non-logged-in posts reduce the amount of activity on The Egotist? It's not hard to login before making a comment. Not an issue for me. But others may say so.

I'm almost certain by identifying a snarky remark, commenters would be flagged and branded. Tar and Feathers perhaps. We hide behind a nameless posts like people have road rage. This IS a small town. Have you noticed certain people are shops aren't dissed? It's because of that fear of not being hired.

So, I say keep the anonymity. But the community should use it for good instead of evil. It's easy to say something sucks balls. But it takes energy and creativity to find a way to be constructive when you don't agree with a concept, art direction or line. After all, bad work stands on its own. Doesn't it? Do we need to spend so much time pointing out why something sucks? I don't think so.

Spend your energy on making your own work better. Spend your time giving advice to those that need a push or advice. Help a junior with polishing a campaign. Take an hour to concept with an intern to teach them. Give back instead of giving-in.

Randall

I actually like the anonymous comments. Some are completely douchy, but plenty are insightful and/or funny. I've been on the receiving end of hurtful opinions here, and that wasn't great, but I didn't take it home with me. I've also posted several (hilarious!) comments anonymously. They weren't mean spirited. They were just a little outside of how I'd like someone to perceive me if it were their first impression.

The comments are one of the main reasons I come to the site every day.

The solution I'd like to see is no "unregistered" comments. Meaning, you need a verified email and a unique username to post. Your email address won't be shared, and you can hide behind an anonymous handle. But, at least we can get to know your pseudonym and have some history on your activity here. And the hassle of setting up a verified account might stop some of the knee-jerk anon posting that’s so easy today.

It won’t stop all of it. I don’t want it to.

Troy.. yes.. agree. There's an entertainment factor too.

I'd bet the site can identify IP addresses if they wanted. And then link-up known IPs to anyom comments.. and have a day of reckoning. How fun would that be? I'd be guilty. Just sayin'

Randall

Anonymity is a foundation of the internet and should not be denied. That being said, I still hate trolls.

Anonymity is treasured by many people; writing is separate of who penned it if it has quality in it's articualation and purpose being unbiased. Especially if you are well studied in a subject and have an eye for it - that all who appreciate it might not notice or now - it is of decimate value to share for those interested or might notice and see or choose to see.

Personally, I have been brainstorming characters writing in styles across the whole Internet platform and other media, as writer used to use the pseudonym - it didn't used to include seminol battles between groups and vaguely talking about others to get under others skins to get something?!

Trolling is for annoying wastes of space which there is plenty available online, to be lost as floating static particles, it concludes to no where fast. I suppose you could stop it by erasing and cleaning it up if we as a collective care and want the Internet to be great - perhaps a desired goal by separate conifers for different categories? As of now if it doesn't beacon your comment and catch anything but huh - I ignore it - for many different reasons and different voices of possible meaning?

^what?

Leave it open.

It saddens me when people say nasty things without having the courage to even identify themselves, but I do think that comments should be left on - maybe with a required name.

There is something to an educated response- to the respect of the group and the purpose of their posting besides ignorant kiddy attitudes which sure we all have.

And as a professional posting real work for a client wanting their product to have a certain representation of ethics they support and provide for, and the qualified individuals to do so.

And then respecting others and their different cultures, groups, and styles...!

One should be able to say something without paranoid fear, carefully without others snapping to hateful conclusions and vise versa. Using a level head with a indifferent attitude to think about it.

@Troy, Exactly why we're questioning things right now.

Troy are you retarded?

Just disliking or hating or being annoyed, is not a good enough reason for doing anything you want and flipping all your handles. if you are qualified for the responsibility of a higher manager position you should have some PC mediating qualities!

Personal stuff that has happened I the past really has no place here, and just makes the quality reside permanently in the sewage!

I personally feel that anonymous comments only hurt the environment you're are looking to create here. When you're Art Directing at your design firm, I would hope that you don't just walk into a meeting and say "Oh wow that sucks! Puke!" which I see a lot of on this site.

With that said, I believe that if you have to put your name behind your comments people will take the time to comment intelligently on campaigns instead of reacting. In my eyes the community can only benefit from that kind of commentary.

This site is here to show off the awesome work that is coming out of Denver and in the rare occurrence where the creative falls short and you want to comment on it, that comment should bare your name and you should be proud of what you wrote... Plain and simple!

RHATIGAN!

Personal animosity for one reason or another...!

did you guys just discover the internet?

you know how you kill trolls? you ignore them.

as the saying goes, 'don't feed the trolls'

you see a hateful comment that's anon, you just scroll past it.

some people post under anons because there are far more annoying things then trolls sometimes. they are registered users who think they need to be the champions of the internet. private messaging you if they disagree with you. trying to train wreck you. this can stifle discussion.

i've had comments of mine deleted here as a registered user, just because I disagreed with something. I was nothing but respectful and brought up very valid arguments, and I wasn't the only one.

So if registered user comments are being deleted, just delete anon ones if they are too much.

Allen-

I do believe that having a genuine good intent and non boggy presence does reciprocate more thoughtful reaction and effort, but in such competition, many attack it harder and at the absolute lowest of lowly on purpose and are not whatsoever held responsible for their actions, and a lot of the muddling is inabled by Internet anonymity...!

It is the nature of the business to be critical, so the anonymous posters are really doing no more than being critics (good or bad). Though I agree they should back it up with a name, not having that soap box to say how they truly feel would really cut down the amount of comments the Denver community receives. I hate it when websites require me to sign up JUST to comment.

The Egotist is one of the few remaining places that I don't have to use Disqus or LiveFyre to comment, and I like that. I appreciate not having to tie my social networks onto here, and hope it stays this way.

Ps. It's gotten so mediocre and Luke-warm that everyone does and says oh well look it's guess who them. I just think it would absolutely waste my time. I don't have time for it!

Pull it. It's a great way to get people to respond clearly and intelligently and will get rid of the crap. I'll finally be able to get to the real conversation quicker.

I want to know the poster if for no other reason than to be able to delineate all the Anonymous's.

For instance, I'd surely like to know who contributed that confounding post that @Troylerner reacted to above. It really read like a website that had been auto-translated by Google.

There, see, snarky comment and you know exactly who it came from.

nickn Give Greg Bergan Blowjobs and Dave F. Has a point...!

Greg, unfortunately half your opinions are cheese dick!

Know by your own instinct, like everyone else had to.

I take back everything I said. @Anoymous just gave me my best laugh of the day.

To paraphrase John Wanamaker, "Half my opinions are cheese dick. The trouble is, I don't know which half."

I thought the information superhighway was created for anonymous postings....

"Judging a person does not define who they are...it defines who you are." I think this sums up the type of people who post mean-spirited and disrespectful comments in the guise of constructive criticism yet remain hidden.

Gregg, if half your comments are cheesedick, I'll happily contribute another 50% cheesedick commentary so our collective thought was one whole cheesedick. Because an entire cheesedick is better than 50%.

We'll co-author comments from this point forward. :-)

Randall

Gregg, I am authentically, real-time laughing out loud. No cheesedick.

Anonymous, bless you.

You know they're trying to ban anonymous speech on the web in the entire state of New York right now, don't you? Let's not be like New York.

Oh, and god bless Mark St. Amant. He is my copy master, and he doesn't even know it. The day he goes Anonymous would be a sad day for us all.

It's a double edge sword. We are all adults here and we should be able to take the good with the bad. When work really isn't that good, "anonymous" will no doubt let it be known to the readers of this blog. Without anonymous, feedback may change from "this really sucks" to nothing at all as most people don't want to seem like a dick in the ad community.

Look at the forum for example. People post up things like "Do I suck?" and they receive one or two comments at the most because you have to be registered to post in the forum.

I always look at it this way: If you post something and anonymous comes out of the woodwork to bash it - it really isn't that good. (Reference almost any logo posted here.) If you post up work and there are little to no comments by anonymous - then the work is really fucking good. Anonymous will scrutinize the shit out of your work to find ANY miniscule flaw to bash you. And if they can't find anything, they will move onto the next post. If there are no anonymous comments on a post that features your work, you should give yourself a massive high-five and be damn proud of the effort you put into that certain project.

Everyone get HAM and spy gear. So you can overide and take comments off and get private info.

I once made the mistake of giving an honest, thoughtful critique of some work using my real name on AgencySpy. Granted, The Denver Egotist isn't AgencySpy, but I was mocked by close to 100 comments thereafter. People tracked down my website and ruthlessly ripped it apart. People spammed me. And in no time, the #1 Google search for my name was that thread.

As a freelancer, it was absolutely devastating. Someone I was interviewing with even brought it up during an interview once.

I think we'd like to all think that people can take constructive criticism. The reality is, 95% of us can't. And that leaves people open for brutal attacks - both here and other places - not to mention the bad mouthing that goes on offline. An honest attempt at criticism could literally ruin someone's career - especially if you're a younger creative to which more experienced creatives won't take kindly to.

There's a reason the founders of this site are anonymous - so you can focus on the work and not on who is critiquing that work. Removing the anonymity will kill that.

@Think, Thanks for your thoughts.

ban anonymous comments

Glad you are asking us! You know I've been a supporter of banning it for a while now. Would you think before speaking in front of your peers or would you just yell out random garbage? Banning it makes the site more realistic in terms of thoughtful criticism in a discussion platform. This isn't Facebook. This is a professional critique community. Individuals adding comments should be held accountable the same way they would be in face to face situations.

Grow a pair, speak intelligently and own your comments.

but yes, some of the comments are pretty effin funny

Think has good point. I stopped to think how I critique a live book. I'm honest and open and give real feedback. For better or worse. But I'd never attack the artist in a hateful way.

I'd suggest from here on out... any feedback you'd give on creative should be consistent with how you'd talk if they were in YOUR OFFICE, IN FRONT OF YOU with potential ears listening-in.

Is your feedback authentic, honest, helpful and balanced? Nobody says you have to just say nice things. Give the good, the bad and the ugly. But say it with grace so when the person leaves your office or cubicle, they feel they're better off by having listened to you for 30 minutes or an hour. Now, practice that here. And see how the community can be built instead of torn down.

I agree with Troy and the others who see registration as a solution. It would be great if we could at least tell all of the anonymussies apart.

Various personalities would blossom from guys like @ialwayshateonthatshopcuztheyrealizedisuck and @expectasnarkycommentthatsactuallyfunnyashell. That would provide hours of entertainment, and produce gems like 'shitnozzle' and 'douchetard.'

The rest of us will just focus on the work that makes brands pay attention to this town. Rising tide floats all boats, right?

@think nailed it. It was my understanding that this site was started because you couldn't openly critique peoples work in Denver without getiing a scarlet letter. Has much changed since then?

That being said, why don't you just have a test run with it. If comment totals start dropping, I think that would give you a good indicator of what direction you should go.

My guess is that they'll go down and the dialogue/critiques will get way more bland...who knows though. Test that shit.

Keep it coming. Keep fucking with me.

If someone is scared to put their name on their opinion, then they don't think their opinion is worth the hassle.

Anonymous(not verified) comments are a great way to anonymously tell the world you don't believe your opinion is very important.

Back your smack, I say.

Good discussion. I would rather keep it anonymous. Judge the comment, logically, on itself, rather than on the person giving it. We're in advertising; we open ourselves up to anonymous criticism every day. If that bothers you, perhaps you're in the wrong line of work.

@ Caleb "We're in advertising; we open ourselves up to anonymous criticism every day. If that bothers you, perhaps you're in the wrong line of work."

True dat

I think there is a certain value to anonymity. I don't mind the negative comments on articles I've posted. And I think there is value to people speaking up about the work. Hell I wouldn't be surprised if some of the people who rip work a new A-hole post anonymously because they know or work with the person who did it,

Besides, I'm pretty sure the columnist "Felix" is not really named Felix. Would he post the same articles if he had to use his real name?

This cow town is soft. The majority here lacks true culture and authenticity. This Anon debate is back because VJ got called out on some terrible work? C'mon denver. Grow some balls, do great work, hold clients accountable for watering down great work, and hold each other accountable for doing poorly executed work. Give props where props are due. Create inspiring work, and be inspired by your peers. There's haters wherever you go. And if your feelings are getting hurt. Then maybe the negativity holds some substance to the work your creating.

I agree with is above comment. If you want press be prepared for debate. If people have to post their names there will be a majority afraid to comment negatively. People in this town need jobs and as the one poster earlier offered proof why being anonymous is important, They got shit for it. The risk of being black balled is greater than the reward (not sure what the reward of posting your name on a comment would be anyway). To Gregg specifically are you prepared to honestly give your negative criticism to a piece of work, the creatives who did it and the client? This is not a slam on you, you are a responsible business owner. How would this affect your business and the client's you represent?

Those anonymous people are bastards.

There is no other way to do it. Anonymous or drown, you'll likely drown!

@ think amen!

Thank-you for thinking -- thinking to care.

Anonymous comments are not the issue. It is how people approach their online persona and overall entity, and the reason they are online and or in groups, which can contrast. It is important to have first your own understanding of your own comfort level, how to behave, and what is worth your own personal involvement, training, and personal fervor for your zeal.

i think many people, more than not, misunderstand and represent that. It is a responsibility that is punished when abused and people get caught, besides the line between confusion and fun when it is obvious abuse and not acceptable. Higher officials to regulate have ethical responsibility that is not everyones' personality and is a careful decision that can be abused in the wrong hands!

Anonymous is the only way, under the longtime, and the present hateful attacks of others.

People should put their names on their words. Let's get rid of all the little bitch comments, are at least have people own them.

Bē-Bye bitchy commentators...be-bye.

Change your tagline.

"Helping Denver Suck Less, Daily" sets a negative tone, which your readers go with.

Go from negative to positive and it's all good.

Also (the tagline comment above is mine), if you set a policy that says people shouldn't be overly negative or attack individuals, and that you'll delete comments that hurt the community, then you can just nuke trolish comments and leave up the 80% of stuff that works. That leaves enough leeway to leave up biting remarks that are well put, but take down the drivel.

It would be hard to enforce the ban on anonymous comments anyway. Fake email addresses/alternate accounts etc. are not hard to create.

For example, a comment from 'Gregg Bergan' might not even really be from Gregg Bergan.

Just as long as 'Greg Bergan' isn't caramelizin' and clogging my suckin' -- HEY, what's wrong with sucking out of my straw less and therefore drinking less?

That About Sums it Up: "Helpin' Denver Suck Less!"

How About, 'Computer Plugged for God' ? Anyone..anyone.:)?

If a comment is obviously meant to flame I quit reading and move on, so I'm willing to put up with moronic comments in order for people to feel free to say what they want. I prefer that to a stream of bullshit, mutual masturbation.

Get rid of anonymous commenting.

Get rid of the Anon crap. The more offensive your post, the more profile views you get, which leads to more exposure and community togetherness. Hollaaa

I like being anonymous.

It's germaine to public discourse that the fringe gets to have a voice, because if you can't deal with the occasional heckler, you probably aren't tough enough to make it in this business anyway.

Besides, I'm stuck with my original username as a display name, and I like this one better.

It don't see it as a problem, so may as well leave it be.

I agree with Think, this site has become a place to just tear down and not build up, I mean Ego is doing its generous part, but the anons have run ramshod over this place and only point out negativity or worse random silly non relevant musings.

Without anon posting I think you'll get a lot of phony-polite comments.

so our comment options are phony-polite, nasty, irrelevant, cliche, obvious, and destructive. sounds like a good reason to shut down comments and just enjoy what the egotist folks come up with.

WHO CARES...?! Questionably? If you got it you got it. We probably still don't care who you are.

The deal is Ezed. That there are plenty of people who think they are in your spot, and think they know, but they try way to hard and really just don't and their pudding falls way short. They do anything that they can do, the most unnecessary and that will probably never change. The cleverest and the best hardly notice or take it as they may and get through it.

I love being anonymous. It allows me to continue to be the biggest hole I can be. I'll leave my phone number anywhere though. Nothing wrong with that :)
631-327-6993

I thought the Beibs took care of the fan ratzied phone overload from his # being exposed via Internet tweet?

f*ck the comments. f*ck all of you. All you black turtle-neck wearing douches can suck it. suck it hard.

Yep, Kum & Get Your "JP" Woody Nickel...!

I have a great solution.

Change the Anonymous typeface to Comic Sans!