I am always suspicious of people who use pseudonyms online. What are they trying to hide? Usually these people use their anonymity to be outrageous or offence and to avoid accountability. Admittedly as a minor public figure I am used to having my views sought and scrutinised, but surely we should all have the integrity to stand by our comments. I regularly blog, tweet, and comment online, but all under my own name. Often people disagree with what I say online or in real life, and I'm happy to debate with anyone on points of disagreement. Occasionally I'll even admit to being wrong! The freedom of expression that the internet allows is an undeniably good thing, but along with it comes responsibility. I'm not talking about the major cases that make the headlines where people are prosecuted for inflammatory comments. I'm talking about one step back from that. The people who feel about to be just that bit too nasty, or to peddle misinformation. Without knowing who these people are it is hard to redress the balance, or correct factual inaccuracies. So my message is say what you believe, be outrageous, whoever you are, but have the courage of your convictions. Be willing to be associated with your own comments, and if you wouldn't be happy to say the same thing in person to someone's face, consider whether you should be saying it at all, on or offline.