Why should I register on OP?

All that's required to register on OrangePolitics is an e-mail address, although we also request that you share some additional information about yourself. Click here to register (or login) now.

There are many benefits to signing up. The two main ones are:

  • Post comments without moderation. (All anonymous comments are held for moderation and are displayed in gray text.)
  • Create your own blog entries and add calendar events.
But wait, there's more...
  • Create a profile including your name, photo, interests, voting precincts, and website.
  • Rate blog entries (1 to 5 stars). Top-rated posts are highlighted on the front page.
  • View full site statistics and see total number of views for each post. (Anonymous users see limited stats.)
  • Create a watchlist of other users to keep track of your friends or favorite posters.
  • Use our send-to-friend feature.
  • Sign up for e-mail updates on new comments and posts.

In the future, there will be additional features that may only be available to registered users.

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Comments

Due to the arbitrary editing done here, I would *never* have my name attached to anything posted on orangepolitics.

I'm not sure what problem you've had (since you are anonymous, natch), but we don't edit problematic comments by registered users. If they unacceptable, they are removed. Anonymous commenters are another matter. Since there is no way to negotiate with the writer, I sometimes remove an objectionable part while attempting to leave the jist of the comment intact. I felt this would preferable to denying the entire commment.

In any case, the full name is not required when creating an account, just strongly encouraged. Again, it's all about credibility and trust.

As Ruby and Brian point out, it's impossible to distinguish one Anonymous voice from another. Plus the grey text makes it hard to read your comments and therefore easy to dismiss them. OP is a valuable forum. Why put a bag over your head?

With all the options on the world wide web available to people to share their thoughts semi-anonymously why insist on remaining behind a vale here? One option is to choose a pseudonym here and be nice to people. Simple.

The fact is there is no such thing as complete anonymity online. You may think because its says "Anonymous" next to your comment that you are hidden. But you're not really.

Its becoming increasingly easy to pin point the physical location of all online activity. Every webserver records basic information about the machine, software, and browser that assists people in leaving comments online. That info can be cross matched with longitude/latitude and other public records to make a pretty good guess of where you are. Experts and organizations with resources can make that guess very accurately. Especially if you use your cable modem at home to leave anonymous comments...

So hide and insult us all you want but you can never really hide. If someone REALLY wants to out you they can. WITH that understood why not just share with us who you are and gain our trust?

I'll say again that I am *not* trying to out people who want to whistle blow or fear retribution. I am *very* much in favor of our right to speak our minds. If you feel you need to share something that could endanger your job, life, family, public standing, political career, etc. then please email the OP editor, start your own blog, email the newspaper, ask a friend to share the info, or some other creative method. But you don't have to leave snarky and hateful comments on this website. (This is my opinion. Not the policy of OrangePolitics.org.)

Yes, and OP's software does automatically keep a record of the IP address from which a comment is posted (this is a built in feature rather than something that the editor has created).  The result is that it is often possible for the editor to see whether two comments were posted from the same computer.  Occassionally people posting under fictitious names have been identified this way in the past.  However, IP addresses are apparently pretty complicated, so on their own they don't prove anything conclusively.

I have been trying to register for months, but apparently someone else named "Duncan Murrell" already registered and I don't know his password. Or, that could have been me, in which case I've forgotten my password. When I try to have my password sent to me, it never seems to make it. I've checked my spam filter a million times, and it never pops up in there. I don't want to use a different name, I like my name. This all makes me very sad.

 

So, whoever you are, "Duncan Murrell,"  give me my identity back. Or, at least, my memory!

 

 

Unless I'm missing something, Mark and Brian anre not completely right. On the new platform, we do NOT currently have the ability to track the IP addresses of anonymous commenters, except to the extent that Google Analytics tracks all visitors to create our site in aggregate. It's a big change from the old system. Anonymous commenters are now really anonynmous. As a result, they also really have no rights (to be published, to enter a real or fake identity, etc.).

Anonymous commenting is really a courtesy to folks who want to try out OP before registering.  There are plenty of ways to register and still obscure your identity from the public.

Duncan, please read this: http://www.orangepolitics.org/news/how-do-i-recover-my-old-op-account and then contact me if you need help.

Web servers can track information like IP addresses. All websites use web servers to share html, images, etc. Now that doesn't mean the software that OP uses helps editors track IP address. So it seem Ruby has chosen to help you anonymous folks stay that way. Kudos to her. But my point that it is possible on web sites in general remains. The goal of my comments is to inform folks about this technical stuff and how it effects you.
I stand corrected.
Unless you are coming to my house to bully me about my different idealogy, I don't really care if you record my IP address. Personally, I think that in a free society, if you want to express yourself you should do it without the fear of being retribution.
I just wanted to post a follow-up here as I have figure dout how to access the IP addresses of anonymous commenters. (It is built into the system and Brian and Mark said, but I hadn't gone looking for it.) So my comment above is incorrect. Just FYI.
 

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