My new article on perceptions of online comments

Just a shameless plug: 

Citation:

Joseph Graf, Joseph Erba & Ren-Whei Harn (2017): The Role of Civility and Anonymity on Perceptions of Online Comments, Mass Communication and Society, DOI: 10.1080/15205436.2016.1274763

Abstract:

An experiment was conducted (N = 170) to determine the role of civility and anonymity in online comments received for a news story. Dependent variables were (a) interest in the discussion, (b) favorability toward the comments, (c) favorability toward the commenter, and (d) trust in the information. Participants exposed to uncivil comments viewed the commenter less favorably and reported less trust in the information in the comment. Anonymity had no effect on the dependent variables, in contrast to expectations derived from social presence theory. Findings revealed that politeness of comments affected participants’ overall perceptions of the content of the online discussion.

Here is the link to a free copy of the article:

http://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/RzjCGijHIQ6ktSh7hYhn/full