Some say that Americans' freedom to spew off-color remarks anonymously is under siege after a St. Louis newspaper editor alerted a school principal that someone using the school's server had posted a vulgar remark on the paper's website (in response to the question "What's the craziest thing you've ever eaten?"). The culprit — a teacher — quit when confronted, prompting angry readers to bombard the St. Louis Post-Dispatch with comments demanding that the editor, Kurt Greenbaum, be fired for abusing his power. Greenbaum says the paper has the right to stamp out obscenity. Did Greenbaum cross a line?
Greenbaum abused his authority: Kurt Greenbaum's tattling was "over-the-top," says Mathew Ingram in the Toronto Globe and Mail. Newspapers routinely deal with comments "much worse" than this one. The tactful — and standard — way to react is to "contact [the commenters] directly and ask them to stop."
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