Case for transparency in comment threads

Your readers’ editor writes, “it is against the Guardian’s community guidelines to identify posters [of comments]” (When a joke in a comment goes beyond mere tastelessness, Open door, 16 February). But honest debate is best served when none of the parties hides behind a pseudonym. The privilege of a public platform without the risk of being called to account should depend on a compelling case. This is exemplified on your letters page, where whistleblowers are given well-deserved protection with the phrase “name and address withheld”. It’s easy to imagine this inconsistency in attribution between comments and letters is largely due to the technical challenge of verifying the identity of posters. It would be heartening to see the Guardian extend its campaigns for transparency versus the cloak of invisibility into this field.
Professor Clive Coen
King’s College London