Henry S Pace sent in the following comment under an anonymous Guest Post:

‘ Sent in by someone I know. ‘

Delia this sentence has to stop once and for all.

All those who want to hide their name are not worth a pinch of salt.

Quite apart from the abrasiveness which seems to be what passes for conversation these days, I can appreciate why Mr Pace objects to anonymous posts. He’s not the only one who does so and many publications refuse to publish writings that are unsigned.

I, therefore, start by recognising that there are compelling reasons to have a policy of publishing only content that has a recognisable name and surname. Like Henry S Pace.

This website does not presume to be the whole national debate. It aspires to complement it. That is why I avoid carrying stories or commentary that are amply covered elsewhere. This is a one-man show and as such necessarily suffers from the variety of styles, biases and ideas that team efforts on other websites provide.

I still want you to keep coming here though. It is therefore very important as I see it that debate is encouraged on the comments boards and in guest posts. And by debate I mean content with style, bias and ideas that are different from mine.

Disqus does not allow me to see the real identity of those who write. Before GDPR Disqus supplied me with the email address of the authors. It does not do so anymore. Therefore unless someone has contacted me directly to identify themselves with a Disqus handle, effectively all comments I publish are to all intents and purposes anonymous. The handle allows us to get used to frequent commenters and to develop an idea of their personality and their bias when they write but it’s still effectively anonymous.

I publish Guest Posts when they’re sent to me directly. People who ask to remain anonymous do so because their writing is often incompatible with their place of work or a position they are occupying. They would not be able to write if they had to sign it. But it is just those places of work or those positions that give those authors the insight that comes through in their writing.

Of course, readers are entitled to give more or less credibility to an unsigned article. Everyone is free to make their own call. When I’m allowed by the writer I give more information about how their background is relevant to the writing. Sometimes I cannot even go there.

Ultimately whether on comments through Disqus or on a Guest Post on the main page, whatever is written anonymously is legally my responsibility.

Wherever I can, and wherever I feel the contribution is going to give visitors to this website a view which is different from mine, even in disagreement with me, I carry the Guest Post with all the background that I can give about the author. Sometimes all I can say is they are known to me.

You’re welcome to read them or not, to agree with them or not.

You’re also welcome to send in your own.

But I don’t think that as a reader you would benefit from being given fewer options to read.