This week, in addition to the many letters to the editor we have published, we also received several emailed letters without signatures. As we explained to the senders, we don't use letters without signatures. In some limited situations we will withhold a name from publication, but this is an exception which is only made if the author has a good, specific reason for needing it withheld.

It seems a shame that some residents will go to the trouble of writing letters, often well written and reasoned, and then be afraid to attach their names to them. In most cases, the anonymous letters don't espouse particularly controversial views, so this is particularly perplexing. We wonder if the recent polarization of the Village over the St. Paul's development issue is not part of the problem. Do people feel uncomfortable taking stands on issues (even ones unrelated to St. Paul's - two of the anonymous letters were about other subjects) and therefore don't want to include their names?

We hope this isn't so, not only for the ourselves (the letters column is one of the most read features of the paper) but for the community as a whole. What does it say about a community based on volunteerism if people are becoming afraid to state their views in a public forum?

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Meg Morgan Norris

Publisher