After a Times editorial suggested that Rockport needed a different form of government, several residents wrote in favor of Town Meeting and I agree with them.

I lived in New York City for more than 40 years and had heard the phrase "democracy in action," but never experienced it until I moved to Rockport in 1986 and attended my first Town Meeting. For the first time, I saw that my vote counted.

I heard the arguments and, though I didn't know enough to form strong opinions at the time, I listened to members of committees who had wrestled with the issues and others who disagreed with them and, gradually, learned from what I heard.

Democracy is not a spectator sport. It requires an awareness of the issues and a willingness to spend time in forums where we can question, agree and disagree with each other and finally vote on matters that affect the entire town, including controversial issues.

In 2004, we voted in favor of liquor licenses in Rockport restaurants, an issue that brought approximately 1,500 people to Town Meeting in 1996 when beer and wine licenses were overwhelmingly defeated.

One of the many things I like about living in Rockport is the way that Town Meeting decides issues like this, with many expressing strong feelings, some whose minds are set in stone, and some who listen and learn from the debate. But I hate the way that opponents often demonize each other.

After 23 years, I cannot imagine another form of government that gives ordinary people the chance to participate in important decisions. There are no absentee votes at Town Meeting; only those who show up decide the future of Rockport, so it's hard for me to understand why so many don't participate. I'm sure they have many reasons but none of them warrant a change in our form of government, in my opinion.

It isn't a perfect system. Some of us talk more than others. At times, rules can be changed at the discretion of the moderator while at other times, rules are used to prevent someone from speaking.

Another form of democracy in action recently surfaced on Cape Ann. Thanks to Rockport resident Josh Brackett and Gloucester residents Jim Barber, Lisa Copeland, Ashwin Purohit and William Taylor, there is a new Web site allowing us to voice our opinions on local, state and regional issues — www.capeannpolitics.org.

There are many similar Web sites on Cape Ann, including one run by this newspaper, but unlike any of those Web sites, Cape Ann Politics is monitored and doesn't allow anonymous postings. If you want to comment, you need to register and identify yourself by name, just as you do at town or City Council meetings or in letters to the newspaper.

I was out of town from January to mid-April this year and was shocked to hear about more than 400 anonymous postings on the gloucestertimes.com site attacking members of the Rockport Board of Selectmen in March. What made these comments really disturbing was the discovery that only four people in town, writing under a variety of aliases, were responsible for almost all of the postings. Rockport is filled with good people capable of disagreeing with each other without being disagreeable. After all, those on opposite sides of an issue this year may be on the same side on matters coming up next year, so as heated as discussions and arguments get at times, it doesn't pay to make enemies. But anonymous postings can be an example of the "darker side" of politics — allowing otherwise-good people a chance to destroy opponents without identifying themselves.

Eileen Ford is a regular Times columnist and a Rockport resident.