"An Armed Society.........

......is a polite society" some wag once noted. That tends to be true because there is a potential cost for abusive behavior in such a place. I say all this because a certain old-guard print journalist known for his abusive writing has gotten himself a real blog, one that permits reader feedback. And his writing there is not abusive. In fact, it is downright introspective and self-effacing so far. Regular readers here will know who I mean.

Of course in this case he uses his real name. I find that almost all of the problem on the internet re lack of civility is from people who don't use their real names. They write things that they would never put into public words if their name was on them.

A blogosphere where people use their real names will tend to be a polite society. I say TEND to be because there are real wrongs and real wrong doers in this world and there does need to be a reservoir of courage to confront such wrongdoers publicly. Politeness must be highly valued, but it is dangerous when it is the HIGHEST value. The same can be said for "tolerance", btw.

Still, using your name on written confrontations means you better be able to back it up. It is almost the same as "saying it to their face".