In fact, when E-Silkroad complained about the postings, IceRed immediately removed them. Ho, a former lawyer, says that prompted the lawsuit. But they refused to cooperate. The ability to comment publicly but anonymously gives disgruntled workers an outlet for airing legitimate frustrations. Stock market investors are able to share information freely.
Medical patients can discuss the most intimate subjects online without embarrassment.
Purists maintain protecting the identities and hence the privacy of online users is essential to foster free speech on the Internet. But guaranteed anonymity has a downside, too. And the online community is by no means unanimous about the privacy rights of chatroom participants. One of them got so mad he sued Yahoo, which now notifies users 15 days before it gives out their IP addresses. Ho won't say what he and his colleagues will do if they find out who maligned them.