The Tripod

Trinity College is an academic institution, and this should be evident both in print and online. The Trinity Tripod has been around since the beginning of the 20th century. Recently, the opportunity to get more involved in this newspaper presented itself in a casual manner through the comment threads on the affiliated Web site at www.trinitytripod.com. This is an exciting opportunity. Now as we read the Tripod in print or online, we can instantly share our opinion of the article with the school (or, more technically, the whole world) using the comments feature. We are lucky to have this Internet component to the paper that facilitates speedy, informal discussions of the articles. But with this opportunity, of course, there is a necessary code of responsibility and posting etiquette that we must seriously consider. Last spring, an offensive comment thread that targeted a single person created an unnecessary controversy. There are places to write disparagingly but an official Web site is not one of them.

When a comment is posted, it is supposed to be checked over by the College Publisher Webmasters, and if the content is "appropriate", the comment is displayed online. Each time somebody comments on an article, we are notified on the front page of the Web site and can more easily navigate to the hot topics on campus. But, remember, the comments featured on the Tripod Web site exist to facilitate public conversation intended for everyone's benefit. Here, debate is encouraged, while attacks, especially personal ones, are not.

Comments posted on the Tripod Web site are scarcely reviewed so most comments go in, whether they are appropriate or not. A few of the recent comment threads, notably from last year, had a large amount of voiceless comments. When we write a comment, we are allowed the option to post anonymously if that is indeed necessary. More often than not, the author of the comment is as important as the content of the comment. When the author is unknown, comment credibility is lost and the Web site becomes riddled with anonymous comments that consist of people venting, complaining, insulting, etc. This hyper-informal manner of commentary is no way to conduct academic discussions, especially when comments are offensive in nature.

When you offend someone anonymously on the Tripod's Web site, you are, in fact, offending the whole community. The Tripod's Web site is available to everyone, perhaps most notably potential Trinity students and potential employers of former Trinity students. Those who read the comment threads know that many people outside of the community read and appreciate the Trinity newspaper. In addition, we are Google-able, and do in fact provide useful insight and information to the World Wide Web. However, many of the unnecessarily offensive comments from last year's threads are enough to leave a bad taste in anyone's mouth. This is everyone's reputation at stake.

Putting your name on your comment, or at least your first name, is automatic incentive to check your work. This in turn makes the whole comment thread a lot neater, more appropriate, and easier to follow. Plus, there is no reason we cannot take pride in what we have to say.

There are people who may argue that the Internet's awesomeness comes from the idea that on the web, you can do whatever you want. There is definitely a place for that, and one such place is TrinTalk.com. Created by Mike DiPietro '11, this Web site is an even more informal way to communicate with peers. Some may say this is where you get the more "real" deal about Trinity College and, as it is somewhat unregulated, contributors can write literally anything. It is up to those on the comment thread to provide checks and balances, calling people out when they cross the line, and from what I have read from Trintalk.com, students are good about calling their peers out when they make inappropriate comments. Trintalk.com even has a disclaimer on their Web site that reads they are "in no way affiliated with the Trinity College, which is a great idea. Although some of the discussions on TrinTalk.com are disgusting and almost embarrassing, it is refreshing to get fully uncensored, informal opinions when we so choose.

As it is not an official site like the Tripod''s Web site, you should take Trintalk.com with a grain of salt. People treat these kinds of sites like a joke anyway. We would encourage you to check out Trintalk.com and let us know what you think about it.

This was not intended to scare anyone away from commenting on the Tripod's threads; please take advantage of them check out what your peers have to say and add ideas of your own. Just remember, there is a time and a place for rudeness and spilling your guts, and an official College Web site is not one of them.

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