by Frank Schroth

Who’s Charlie Subban?

Yesterday afternoon, a comment was published by Charlie who raised some interesting points regarding the status of the Ulin rink and its management. It was challenging, questioning, and thoughtful. But there was a problem with it. Charlie may not be real.

The policy of this web site is to publish only comments from individuals who use their real, full names. The comment in question received the benefit of the doubt while  time was spent determining if, in fact, there is a Charlie Subban. There is no record of him to be found anywhere here in Milton. No one in town knows him but some offered a guess as to who it is and that is part of the problem. Innocent people are being tagged for saying things they didn’t say. This is a natural consequence of anonymous comments in a small community. So, the comment was removed. Maybe Charlie is from out of town. If so, he sure knows a lot about the Ulin rink and Milton hockey.

It is understandable that people have things they want to say and seek to say  anonymously, because of where they work, who they work or interact with, etc. But comments lose credibility if there is no one standing behind them. Occasionally, a reasonable comment will be the casualty of this policy. Conversely, inane comments may appear as long as someone takes responsibility for them.

Residents have smart, informed, and interesting things to say. At times clarifications are made, mistakes and misstatements are corrected. Comments have been made by our elected representatives, state officials, and residents with subject matter expertise or experience in a particular field or on a specific issue. There is a clear public benefit to enabling and encouraging public dialogue on issues and concerns of the community but real names are required. People own what they say.