The signature (and blogger) i1277 contributed a thoughtful comment to the brief debate on this blog about press ethics and discussion forums (scroll down to see the comment). On his/her blog, i1277 expands on the issue of anonymity (in Norw.) in a longer post.

I do see the arguments for choosing anonymity/nicknames in certain web/net contexts. In many discussions and user groups it may not be important to the others if you are a 15 years old girl from Bergen or a 69 years old retired colonel from Austin, Texas, as long as you contribute something valuable. But there are contexts where openness about who you are is essential, where anonymity subverts your own credibility and devalues the debate for everyone else at the same time. I think serious political debate is one of those contexts, hence my problems with the nickname-dominated discussion forums such as VG Diskutér. If participants in political debates are anonymous, how are we to know that we’re not witnessing, say, provocations or manipulation from the youth cadres of established political parties? As blogs become more important, such questions also gain momentum.