Amazon prods reviewers to own up to their opinion
This is a good step forward in differentiating and valuing an online opinion more when the author is willing to put his or her name to it. Hopefully, a system like this will spread to all online communities. According to this Wall Street Journal story (subscription required):
After years of letting Internet users anonymously savage or salute everything from books to toasters in online reviews, Amazon.com Inc. is encouraging its customers to put their names where their opinions are.
Earlier this month, the Web retailer quietly launched a new system, dubbed Real Names, that encourages users to append to their product reviews the name that appears on the credit card they have registered with Amazon. A logo saying "Real Name" appears beside such customer comments.