Anonymous opinion page sage puts down his pen after being outed

Anonymity can bring out extreme opinions; that's why editorial pages usually require letters to the editor to be published under a real name. Steve Stewart, the publisher of the State Journal in Frankfort, Ky. was reminded of that recently when he realized a long-time editorial letter writer had been publishing under a pseudonym. "'Mark Henry' has delighted liberal--and trolled conservative--readers of this page since 2008," Stewart writes in an editorial page confession. "By his own estimate, his letters have been published 140 times by, if my math is right, six different editors."

Stewart figured it out when he realized "Mark's" latest editorial didn't have contact information. When Stewart wrote back and asked, the author provided both. A quick Google search found that Mark was somebody else entirely--and Stewart says he's not telling his real name.

Faced with the choice to either publish under his real name or give it up, Mark chose to give it up. He told Stewart he wanted to keep his government job, and didn't want to argue with neighbors in Kroger every time he published a letter.

Anonymity, Stewart muses, is fine on the internet, but reputable papers need real names. Perhaps the threat of a Kroger encounter can help us all stay more civil.