To Link or Not to Link?/Screen Names?

We regularly link articles from other sites. Some weeks ago we linked an on-the-scene article from the Quad-Cities Daily. The article concerned a family hostage situation in Muscle Shoals. A reader quickly asked us to remove it since the situation was ongoing. The fact that it was ongoing is why we linked it. Kudos to the QCD for having the courage to visit the scene and keep readers informed.

Even more recently we linked an article on a Sheffield bar shooting. We had several complaints on the photo that accompanied the PNS article--something over which we have no control.

On the flip side, we've had requests to link certain articles either here or on Facebook--specifically those on a Sheffield man who is charged with animal cruelty. In other words, you can't satisfy everyone.

For those who asked, we're not paid to link anyone. We don't get any money if you click on these external links or not. If you don't like the link, feel free to say so, but don't expect us to edit the original articles. We can't. It's as simple as that.

*****

Sometimes it's easy to forget the different backgrounds we all come from. Many of our readers have extensive history in local cyberspace and many just seem to use e-mail and Facebook. The latter may not be aware that forums usually forbid posters to use their real names.

If we see something signed "Trader," "Deep Fat," or "Original Bama," we pretty well know that person and don't consider anything wrong with universally using these appellations. There's a big difference in using a long-standing screen name and creating a fake identity to blast a candidate for office.

*****

Shoalanda