Comment is free…

It may come as no surprise to those who have stumbled across my articles before, but I’m not really one for making New Year’s resolutions. Not because I see in myself no room for improvement, but rather because I lack the moral fibre and self-control to better myself. Pity. This year, however, I am determined that things will be different; I have decided that 2013 is the year to be that little bit nicer. I refuse to go it alone, however, and am therefore asking a group of highly prominent people to do the same. Not my friends, however, and not my family, either. This is a group of people largely unknown to me, in fact. I am referring, perhaps surprisingly, to those who make use of the comment feature on this very website.

Yes, the time has come for us all to take a step back and think about the impact of what we’re putting online – not just on the writer of the article, but on the delightful specimen who has chosen to pollute the comment box with an unimpressive string of swears. Even when posting on articles anonymously or under an obscure pseudonym, the IP address can be tracked and, if necessary, legal action can be taken, just as it was against Frank Zimmerman, the unkempt loner jailed for attacking high-profile celebrities last year. In the heat of the (often-drunken) moment, do those who can compose nothing more than the word ‘cunt’ in response to a piece ever stop to consider this?

While every commenter has the right to anonymity (and, of course, to say what they like), it can’t help but strike those of us who put a genuine name (and often face) to our opinions as a little cowardly. What, if anything, is there to be gained from a playground insult hurled from behind a computer screen? Not that they’re a significant problem for this particular writer, of course – if anything, the fact that students at a top ten university take time out of their busy day to call me something so uninspiring is a little stroke to the ego. Not to mention the misinformed commenter who compared me to a ‘bent Sergeant Brody’, the Homeland character played by an actor recently voted among the 50 sexiest men on the planet. Ta.

More worrying, however, are those who post under false names. While the posts created posing as those nominated for BNOC of the Year were sometimes mildly amusing, one cannot forget that such posts are visible to all, including prospective employers.

Freedom of speech is important. Self-expression is important. What is not important, however, is publically defaming harmless people for the sake of it. So let’s make 2013 ‘cunt’-free, courteous, and civil. But feel free to continue comparing me to celebrity pin-ups.