I had the privilege of speaking with the Auburn Rotary Club this week, and the subject that generated the most passionate discussion involved the publication of reader opinions.

Letters to the editor have long been a wonderful part of this and most other newspapers. Often one of the most popular features in The Citizen, the letters page gives people a venue to express their thoughts on all kinds of subjects. Some criticize public officials while others praise them. Some are responses to other letter writers. Some offer gratitude, perhaps to a good Samaritan that helped a person in a tough spot.

The range of topics is vast.

But there's always one underlying rule about the letters page. All submissions must have the writer's name attached to them.

Now comes the Internet, where anonymity is the norm. Our Web site, www.auburnpub.com, and most other newspaper sites that allow reader feedback have not required full disclosure of names among people who post comments. Some people do give their names, but most choose to withhold their identity.

The idea behind these online forums or feedback features is to create an outlet for more free-flowing conversation among readers. For various reasons, requiring people to use full names could greatly stifle participation.

Of course there are drawbacks, too. Most people agree that an opinion carries more weight when the person offering it is willing to put their name behind it. As one person at the Rotary gathering put it last week, anonymity on the Web is a lot like beer muscles - people suddenly feel much more empowered to say whatever they want.

The consensus among the Rotary members last week was that we should require identification, but that crowd was admittedly comprised of people who are much more inclined to read the hard-copy edition of the paper than go online for their news.

I have also had reservations about anonymous opinions, but I also understand why some people feel they're valuable. One can argue that while messy at times, such forums bring out more of the truth. Some people are forbidden by their employers to publicly speak through the media, but what if they have something important to say?

Right now I can tell you we have no immediate plans to alter our policy for anonymity on Web site postings, but I'd love to hear from readers about whether we should make a change.

The development of online news media is just now picking up significant speed, so we're all trying to figure out what the rules should be. I'm sure what we're doing today will be much different a few years from now, and readers will be the people who ultimately dictate the direction we go.

Executive editor Jeremy Boyer's columns runs Saturdays in The Citizen and he can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 231 or jeremy.boyer@lee.net