One of my least favorite words: anonymous.

There’s something liberating about taking on a fake persona and having the power to say whatever we want without fear of the words being traced back.

Each week, some of my fellow columnists are victim to horrible comments criticizing their writing abilities and intelligence.

That, however, doesn’t bother me. We know what we signed up for and realize that a lot of readers are going to disagree with what we say.

What does bother me is how scared people are to write their names next to their comments.

On Jason Febery’s column from March 14, 2011, only six of the 74 comments below his column had first and last names. These thought-out comments, especially the offensive ones, offered only a first name, a nickname or were listed as ‘Anonymous.’

But the problem arises when people use these forums to attack others and then choose to leave their identity unknown.

If you’re not willing to be held accountable for what you say, really reconsider why you’re saying it.

People seen this time after time through cyberbullying on sites, such as “College ACB.” As soon as our identity is unknown, we feel free to say hateful, damaging things about people we know well or barely know at all.

If you have an opinion on something, speak up and be brave enough to attach your true identity to it. Think about why you are choosing to leave out your name. Own the positions you take, and be brave enough to put your name next to what you believe — even if you think it might be different, even if it’s corny or even if other people might think you’re delusional.

You might make a few enemies here and there, but anonymously posting moderately offensive remarks is nowhere nearly as respected as someone who openly tweets their stances on the controversial issues of the world. A person’s background gives insight into the reasoning behind the comment.

This column is in no way trying to protect the feelings of columnists at The Daily Illini or any other columnist for that matter. I’m definitely not saying you should restrain from posting if you disagree. But the fact is, if we attach our names to every word we write, including our not-so-favored opinions, our commenters should do the same.

When we have endless options of getting our voices heard, we should be taking advantage of this power, not hiding behind code names.

I encourage everyone to find a way tell the world their opinions on the issues they hold close to your hearts. A blog is a powerful, easy way to start posting thoughts. It’s liberating to be read potentially by anyone in the world. There are numerous benefits to blogging, along with how good it looks to future employers!

It’s really easy to be anonymous. But challenge yourself to post your true identity.

Ashley is a senior in LAS.