I have always been sympathetic to people who, for their own reasons, feel the need to hide their identity in a public forum like the Gossips comments. (Despite calling itself "The Friendly City," Hudson can be a pretty mean and snarky place.) Because of this, I have always allowed people to use pseudonyms for their comments. Some notable examples in the past have been "Prison Alley" and "unheimlich," commenters who made meaningful contributions to the conversation and whose comments were consistent enough for other readers to get a sense of who they were--in other words, who established what might be called a "Gossips persona." Today, "Union Jack" and "Friendly Neighborhood Immigrant" carry on that tradition.
I have always been uncomfortable, however, about publishing anonymous comments that criticize or challenge commenters who have identified themselves using their real names. Recently, with several controversial issues before us, things are getting worse. Because of what seems like a spate of new anonymous commenters and the new phenomenon of commenters changing their identity, I am requesting that new commenters, i.e., those who have not already established a "Gossips persona," use their full names--their real names, not character names like "Ron Swanson" or made-up names that when Googled yield nothing--when submitting comments. If you already have a Google profile that you don't want to change (or don't know how to change), sign your comment with your full name. If you are reluctant to sign your comment and reveal your identity publicly, you can identify yourself to me in confidence: carole@gossipsofrivertown.com.
COPYRIGHT 2025 CAROLE OSTERINK
I believe that everyone that comments should use their real names, especially "Union Jack" and "Friendly Neighborhood Immigrant", and other established people who are serial commenters. We aren't being thrown in jail yet for speaking out.
ReplyDeleteI think this is a reasonable new policy. While I wish everyone, including Gossips old-timers, were using their real names, at least folks like Union Jack use their identity consistently and don't slip into a new one when it seems convenient.
ReplyDeleteI would prefer to use my full name, even though my moniker uses as much identifying information as anyone else here who uses first names and assumes they’re known as such like Cher or Elvis, or one of the ten Peter’s.
ReplyDeleteHowever to assume that retaliation for speaking out against those in power does not happen in this insular “friendly city” …well, then I have a bridge to sell you. Just don’t expect that bridge to get a fair property tax grievance or an expedient process at the Planning Board. And maybe some bags of dog poop thrown at it ;)
CO ... I've never liked your policy of anonymity for some while others use real names ... it's never too late to create a new policy especially now! Consider ALL real names in the interest of transparency.
ReplyDeleteThanks Carole, this is a move in the right direction. But it really seems like if you're requiring accountability for some while leaving a selected few in masked anonymity, it defeats the purpose?
ReplyDeleteNick, if you really cared about anonymity and conflicts of interests, why are you not in favor of greater disclosure of conflicts of interests? Like when you opine on City Charter or City Hall issues, shouldn't you disclose that you were the former Head of the Youth Center and now grant recipient of the Spark of Hudson? Or, for example, if you live in your new house in Greenport or in other buildings you own in Hudson?
DeleteWhen I post comments on here, I sign off with my full name and address because otherwise certain people (sometimes themselves anonymous!) accuse me of being a bot or not from here.
ReplyDeleteI think that anonymity causes people to be less kind and thoughtful than they would otherwise be.
We're all neighbors. Let's be neighborly and speak to each other that way.
I think a complete policy change to always requiring names would do a lot to improve the civic discourse in Hudson.
Nathan Woodhull
29 Union St.
I agree. I'm hearing a lot of appreciation for the transparency of the other night's town hall re: charter reform. I'd like to see the same thing here.
ReplyDeleteLiz Dickey
This is a good move Carole, thank you! Anonymous psuedonyms clearly increase the lack of civility in comments. I'd urge you to implement the change across the board instead of exempting older commenters.
ReplyDelete“Yes, we’ve all suddenly become fans who have respected Gossips all along! We’re not just trying to silence that major thorn in our side. Let’s make this an equivalency to a Council public forum and pay no mind that this is a private blog that can be viewed or ignored. I’m happy to put my full name on here—and not just because my friends and employers hold the political, governmental, and financial power in this city.”
ReplyDeleteUnion Jack, I may not agree with Carol on a lot of issues but I have to respect her and acknowledge that we all turn to Gossips for daily political news at this point. Which is exactly why it's so important that the discourse be civil on the blog.
DeleteNick - but when you defame and libel me behind my back to other residents... you seem to care less about civil discourse 😘
DeleteYou just don't like some of the anonymous folks here because they know what sorts of City Hall bills arrive in certain inboxes years after they should...
I am at Banque, Klocke, Half Moon or Kitty's most Friday afternoon (when not abroad) hosting office hours. Happy to meet with anyone face-to-face.
Nick - we can discuss where you vote and who threw dog feces at the previous mayor when your Youth Center budget and salary was on the chopping block.
Back in 2019, James Howard Kunstler came to Hudson and gave a talk at the library. The title was "The American Small Town is Where it is At. Let's Get it Right."
ReplyDeleteI introdued myself and asked him, "What do you mean when you say 'civic design'?"
"The relationships between all the buildings," he said.
It is my feeling that we live in a deeply anti-social age, and our primary obligation is to create more opportunities for pro-social interaction.
Attaching our names to our ideas is a wonderful step in the right direction.
Thanks Carole, long overdue. Anons have had a deeply corrosive influence on the conversation here. And yes, most Anons confuse radical critique with their entirely milquetoast remarks when defending their right to a nom de plume.
ReplyDeleteHi David -
DeleteFirst - love a man who uses milquetoast correctly.
Second - I totally agree that, all things equal, people behave better when they show their faces. That is one of the reasons why masks are now being outlawed on some campuses after the Palestine protests and also why some states outlawed masks during the KK era.
But... in single-party environments like Hudson with a lot of virtue signaling and shaming... some strategic anonymity can help.
Trixie is one of the most progressive people in town and fought for civil rights long before Kamal moved to Hudson from Westchester... and yet Tom DePietro still called him "far right" when he simply did not fall in line.
This is a weird little town.
If someone uses anonymity to hurl unhelpful insults and spreads lies... that is obviously not good. But if someone uses anonymity, or nicknames, to articulate a thoughtful point of view in medium or long form.. you have to wonder if it is the anonymity you dislike or the view that is being expressed.
Here is another angle... are you the David Marston from the famous NRA incident years ago when some email was accidentally sent to the wrong person and hundreds of Republican/NRA members descended on a small Hudson City Hall meeting?
📕 https://gossipsofrivertown.blogspot.com/2013/02/defending-right-to-carry-guns.html
Regardless... you can see how if that sort of situation happens again... someone might not want to have their address and identity on the open internet.
We live in an era of Doxxing and harassment.
I am sure you do not have any interest...
but Peter Spear, bridge builder and Mr Rogers of Hudson, has my cell, and I asked him to put us in touch in the unlikely event that you are interested.
As a long-time resident in Hudson I am sure you can share many insights on how to fix Kamal's corruption and the failing schools.
We can learn something from everyone.
Re: Identity / Anonymity / Community or "A Citizen of New York"
ReplyDelete✒️ This is one of the oldest challenges on the internet… goes back to ICQ, Usenet, Wikipedia and now the defi community… and before that the Founding Fathers used anonymous "pamphlets" to make a point and not get shot. President Van Buren at one point wrote as "A Citizen of New York", anonymously… if I recall correctly… and "Van Buren (also) earned two nicknames during his lifetime: “the Little Magician”—he was a smooth politician—and “Old Kinderhook” from the town where he was born. “Old Kinderhook,” abbreviated to O.K., was his campaign slogan and was one way the expression became part of the English language."
But I digress…
🛜 Online comment communities improve with : A) consistent (even if private) identities, B) clear guidelines applied fairly, C) designing /incentivizing for positive and constructive culture.
I have not been on Gossips long… but it seems there are different Gossips commenter goals… and at least at this time…. not a universal culture. Some want to be mean (I have met snark with snark in retorts as well), others want to ask questions, others add a lot of value to the stories factually etc.
🛡️ One more perspective on Gossips and Hudson…. there are plenty of very legitimate reasons why someone might want to be "Verified Anonymous" or simply "Private" in small communities, for example:
- (il)legal immigrants (see for example how ICE is accused of arresting (it seems at this time) students for publishing critical Op-Eds. Or on the other side of the border issue, Iran and India have famously gone after dissidents in America.
- a victim of domestic violence or harassment who relocated here and wishes not to be found by an ex boyfriend who figured out Google Alerts. Actual incident.
- a resident with applications before City or County boards who may fear reprisals or discrimination.
- a resident who may work in a Middle Eastern or African country that has outlawed (or has the death penalty) for LGBTQ folks.
- a local store owner who fears retaliation from customers or elected officials.
- commenters might have their property vandalized. (To the gentlemen and his girlfriend who did this in our alley… we have your license plate…. and it is not smart to commit crimes in such a distinctive silhouette vehicle with an EZ pass transponder, did you not watch The Wire or Law & Order.
To name a few...
Some also prefer nicknames… apparently Kamal goes by "kk", Rich has his Trixie alter-ego and events brand and we can all think of some performers and dancers in town who go by stage names…..
~
"Verified Anonymous" is an attempt to solve this… where, say, the City Clerk knows the identity and confirmed resident status of someone submitting a public letter to City Hall, but it is a little harder (but not impossible) for the internet to figure it out. Or Carole, for her blog, can at least stop the identity hopping of one or two individuals who log in under one name, make a mess, and then delete the identity. In New Zealand we'd call that guy a seagull missile. Flies in, shits, flies away.
It is funny that some readers had no problem with Friendly Neighborhood Immigrant 🇺🇸™ or Union Jack until we started calling a spade a spade, thereby revealing that it is not the semi-anonymity you dislike, but the truth-speaking.
🇺🇸 Whether anonymous, private, or public…. the American ways is freedom of speech. And we stop bad speech with more good speech.
Or as Brandeis said: "If there be time to expose through discussion the falsehood and fallacies, to avert the evil by the processes of education, the remedy to be applied is more speech, not enforced silence."
do appreciate we can always count on you™ to confuse both the content & the form of your speech in the most whiny, narcissistic, and sophistic way possible.
DeleteAhhh, thanks Dave! 🫶
DeleteSo were you the NRA Dave Marston or is that another Dave Marston?