UPDATED: Full Names in Comments Section?

Afternoon Update: 3:45 p.m.

Thank you for all the great responses to this morning's post. Keep them coming.

Ice Watch

On another note, be careful driving today. The side streets near Hartwell Avenue were a sheet of ice a few hours ago. I know the  is sanding, but use caution anyway.

It's going back down to 22 degrees tonight, so we can expect it to turn back to ice before tomorrow's sunshine.

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Last week I wrote a few pieces that ruffled feathers, and we received comments.  We love when you write your thoughts at the bottom of a column or article – it means you’re reading and you have an opinion that needs sharing.

Town Meeting Member Alan Seferian didn’t agree last week on points I made in a column on the Community Preservation Act surcharge, and commented to tell me as much. He then offered information that clarified a percentage mistake I made in the voting results.

Selectman Chair Hank Manz commented on the column, sharing his opinion too. And, I can always count on Gini Shevrin to share her thoughts – and make me laugh.

You'll notice that when some people comment – like Hank, Alan, Gini and others – their user names are their full name, right there on top of their comment. But other people have elected not to have their first and last names displayed as their user name.

Patch gives you that right, but what I'm proposing is that we as a Lexington Patch community decide we're going to write our full names at the end of every comment, so we know who we're engaging in discussion with. 

Harry Forsdick requires as much on the Lexington Listserv. And I'd like to see it here too – whether your user name is your full name, or you write your full name at the end of each comment. 

What do you think? Is that a fair request?

There are people who don’t want to go on the record, and they contact me privately by hitting the “e-mail the author” button at the top of this column. Those comments are never shared here, unless the reader asks me to do so.

But in the comments section, it's nice to match a name with words  – and it gives it more authenticity to everything you have to say. 

Enough already. It's sounds as if I'm lecturing.