More challenging may be the complexities that come when users
online have the ability to remain anonymous or to invent characteristics
for themselves. Though the ability to be mostly or completely anonymous
can increase the comfort required for someto participate in unfettered
dialog, it can also make it difficult to verify identities or specified
demographics in a study population (e.g., age, gender). The lack of any
face-to-face contact may also make informed consent harder to ensure.
Anonymous accounts also make it impossible to determine how much
trust to put in the quality of information being distributed. The Internet
is infamous for the propagation of inaccuracies, and if a person cannot