Pseudonymous Weblogging -- Vice & Virtue »
Posted By Spadecaller 11 months, 2 weeks ago in News"Post your thoughts, feelings, and rants anonymously" without facing consequences outside the blogger's matrix. "Need to unleash the beast?" What brings us to share our lives with people we cannot see, people we will probably never meet, and people without their true identities?
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Spadecaller11 months, 2 weeks ago
"Brutally honest, personal and revealing blogs thrill me the most. I want to tell the truth when I blog, but sometimes the truth is painful. Pseudonymous blogging has both its vices and virtues..."
What have you discovered?
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Bkumm11 months, 2 weeks ago
I use my real name. I think a pseudonym is somewhat, well, dishonest. No offense.
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tehranchik11 months, 2 weeks ago
From Spadecaller: "I consider the name I use for the Netscape weblog an acceptable identity. In some respects, it is even a greater indication of who we are, than the name selected for us at birth. When I interact with others on the weblog, I do not care about their credentials, their degrees, what job they have, or what gender they are; what is relevant is their grasp on the subject under review."
Tehranchik is my essence. It's also a form of my real name and it's who I like to be everyday on and off line.
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Bkumm11 months, 2 weeks ago
Well, kind of, but not really at the same time. For people that are protecting their professional and personal lives, anonymity provides a way for people to say things they normally couldn't.
On the other hand, people can use that anonymity to be real jerks with no repercussions. That bothers me a lot.
So, I see both sides of this. I mean, I did write and article about it, remember this:
http://www.bransplace.net/drupal-5.2/?q=node/14
I'm torn by it Spade, really torn.
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Spadecaller11 months, 2 weeks ago
Anonmymity is the spiritual foundation of all the twelve step programs; it places the responsiblity on its members to use it wisely.
On blog sites, those that abuse it suffer their own consequences. In most cases, there are enough people with street smarts who will catch the "sock puppets" and the cons pretty quickly. Don't you think?
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canadianrancher5711 months, 2 weeks ago
Great artical. I have always believed that one must be honest even if no one can check on you, Through out my life honesty has rewarded me greatly. I like you have at times have wanted to comment but do not have the ability to do so. I have read very few books in my life and therefore my knowledge is limited to what I have observed in life. The reason I am a member is because through 12 years of school I was told I was an Idiot, and that is what my grades showed. I have always questioned my intellegence and am always happy when I receive positive feedback on comments. The only problem I have not knowing peoples identity is when the get sick or you do not see comments from them you just wonder. I don't judge people but if have to deal with people who are dishonest you don't really listen as well. I do worry at times when I put my personnel experiances in a comment but that just me.
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cowboygrandpa11 months, 2 weeks ago
canadianrancher57: Well sir let me say. I find your intellect down to earth and honest. I have attended college although you probably cannot tell from my posts. I found many there to be dull and bookwise with no real feel the truth of the real world. That was frustrating for me. I had been through a war and I'm sitting with people whose idea of harsh is having to wait in line for gas. Staying up all night was easy since when I slept I usually awoke with nightmares. I digress sir. What I am trying to say is I welcome your truth and insight much more than some phony who hasn't a clue about the struggles of day to day life. Honesty is intelligence in my eyes. Peace.
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slate11 months, 2 weeks ago
Ranch,,,,,, life itself is the most important education in the world. People raised in the inner city have a different kind of education that no 'college student' raised in an upper middle class family could possibly know anything about. The same thing goes for someone raised on a farm versus the suburbs; being raised in the north east over the south. I work in a field where this humble high school grad is surrounded by those with degrees, masters and PhDs. Believe me when I say that an ongoing education does not denote a superior intellect in many cases, it means those people had the means to go to school and knew how to study and pass tests. Many of these folks can't think outside the 'box' of what they learned in school or read in a manual. Intelligence has many forms, being able to think outside the box and making a common sense decision over by-the-book ones has given me a fairly good position in a consulting firm, where I'm the only one without a degree in the office.
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jordan1111 months, 2 weeks ago
'Jordan' is not my name, but has a significant connection to my life. Being an eccentric (which I acknowledge proudly as I age), I couldn't possibly dishonor the name. So warts and all, what I say is who I am. If I'm in someone's 'face' online, I'd be in their face under the same circumstances were we in the same room. I guess it isn't necessary to announce I'm very passionate about some issues. ;)
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AnteUp11 months, 2 weeks ago
Spadecaller ~
At home - not in public - they wouldn't recognize me if I
did that. I get a lot of "You can get off your soapbox now"
I mean, honestly!
I am though, VERY cautious about personal info - does that
mean I have a trust issue with my fellow human beings?
Probably. If it had been a requirement to use my own name
to post a comment..........it never would have happened.
I only post what I really think - and I do TRY to think
it out before I post. There are times when I just fire away
- and I have lived to regret some comments - but it's
the privacy that a pseudonym allows. That's important IMO.
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MonkeyBiz11 months, 2 weeks ago
My pseudonym is a little of an inside joke. Someone who knows me well could see both the avatar and the name and know exactly who I am. Not that it would bother me a whole lot, since they already have enough info.
I have been accused more than once of not being who and what I have said I am on these threads (I think I've occasionally disclosed too much personal info). When I first joined netscape I took offense at these accusations, but soon learned to consider the source and ignore the rude and their irrelevant accusations (to the best of my ability to do that).
Anonymity may be the spiritual foundation of 12 step programs, but online it unleashes the worst in many people. I like the idea that if you wouldn't dare say it face to face, don't say it online either.
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icono111 months, 2 weeks ago
..."I like the idea that if you wouldn't dare say it face to face, don't say it online either."
Very true. I feel the same way. State your point of view and stick to it. If you play word games or try to be 'cutsey' with most bloggers they will sooner or later cut you off at the knees and hand you head to you in a metaphorical basket.
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cowboygrandpa11 months, 2 weeks ago
MonkeyBiz: Funny. When one of my daughter logged on to this site. She spotted my handle and called me on it privately. She e-mailed me at my E-mail address and said cowboygrandpa this is your daughter L... ROFLMAO you thought you could disguise yourself the name fits. She had read some of my comments and knew it was me. I have to tell the truth she knows me to well. And yes she would call me on a lie. I always taught them to tell the truth and not to steal. I can't do less. There are some things I won't divulge because they are to painful. Yet if I feel it would benefit another I might.
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bubba211 months, 2 weeks ago
My pseudonym is really NOTHING AT ALL like me. In fact, I never really thought about the 'redneck' type implications when I picked it.
I had a dog - unfortunately not for very long (LONG story ...) - that died unnecessarily and he was so sweet and forlorn and his name was Bubba.
He died not long before I discovered Netscape and registered. Little Bubba was on my mind at the time, and not feeling otherwise creative or imaginative, I chose his name.
Like MonkeyBiz notes, I try not to say anything here that I could not say to someone's face. I slip up now and then, but sticking to the subject is what I try to do - debating is enlightening and informative - name-calling is unproductive and silly.
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johnkamis6411 months, 2 weeks ago
I did use my real name, and try to be myself...One reason I used my Yahoo moniker is I have a truly $h!tty memory,and lost I don't know HOW many web-addresses because I lost track of the name or password!!!
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AnteUp11 months, 2 weeks ago
I'll share my choice of pseudonym - I doubt anyone will be surprised.
Probably eight years ago, walking my student home from the
bus stop, two men approached us. One held a camera and the
other in a suit with a micro-recorder. Seems a pipe bomb
had been found at the high school campus (they THOUGHT it
was a pipe bomb) and he wondered if I had any comments
to share with their viewers. Then I recognized him! No -
no, I didn't know enough about the story to comment.
Oh, he pressed. No I said again. THEN he points up the
hill to where my neighbor has parked his car after coming
home from work and say's "See that man?" He continued,
"Well he pointed you out to us. He say's you have an opinion
on EVERYTHING!" My neighbor is laughing - and waves to us.
Oh thank you so much great neighbor! It's been a joke for
years - but it would seem I have earned a rep as someone
who is ever-ready to put in their two-cents worth -
or ante up with an opinion.
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Amazing111 months, 2 weeks ago
There are two sides to this anonymity coin for me. I like that I can write what I truly feel. I have long felt that I am a more complete person in my writing than I am in person. In live conversations, I often do not get a chance to speak. I think this is because I am female raised in a time when women nearly always took a back seat and did not assert themselves. Here, I can enter the conversation fully and I appreciate that opportunity.
I think it is true for all of us. In live conversation, the point you wanted to make may well be irrelevant by the time you get to jump in. Here, you can make a comment an hour or a day later at the point in the posts where your ideas are relevent.
Another advantage is the exposure to completely different points of view. Some of these ideas are obviously wrong and on more than one occasion, I have been known to point that out. :)
A disadvantage to the entire process is the unreality of it all. (cont.)
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Amazing111 months, 2 weeks ago
Flesh and blood friends are a vital part of a full life. The people around you who can help you out when needed or to whom you can provide shelter. When we were flooded, there were none of you who could offer my husband and I a place to stay for the night or a boat to get us off the roof of our home. I cannot run errands for you or bring you food when you are ill.
And that's what makes this experience unreal. I feel that I have developed friends here. Some of them know my real first name. But in an age of cyber thieves, I am not comfortable with telling the entire world where I can be found. And let us not forget the crazies who could do physical harm just because we don't worship their way or vote their way.
I like the social blog. I enjoy the friends I've made. And I thank you for posting this article.
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Shadowolf11 months, 2 weeks ago
I'm good to get along with most folks,and I'm happy to have found so many friends...anonymity has two sides it seems to me;freedom to vent without getting the snot kicked out of you; and freedom from a psychos attentions...you all make excellent points!!!
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canadianrancher5711 months, 2 weeks ago
Boy! Now I'm starting to feel guily for not having any friends on this social site, but to me there are some words that are important and I don't use them very often, some of these words are love, hate, kill, and friend. I am like Amazing1 I find it hard to say someone is my friend if I can't be there if and when they need me. I read comments for 6 months before becoming a member and learned something by watching, within a month of becoming a member spadecaller had disappeared and was left to ponder his fate, although I think it was deathray who told me not to worry, but I am a people person and I enjoy all, even the ones who seem miserable to all. To me every persons opinion is relevant, if not to us to them. In my time as a member I have seen the most frustating people post good comments which shows they are thinking people and that is to be admired.
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fudgie11 months, 2 weeks ago
No argument/debate whether online or, for that matter, face to face is worth compromising principles that you as a person follow. As long as YOU uphold honesty in your realm, even if you must admit defeat, you win in my book.
Additionally, if Person B is the dishonest one, more often or not, they will inevitibly be sniffed out by someone else reading the thread. I have the utmost faith in my fellow Netscapians.
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ETproductions11 months, 2 weeks ago
My handle is my company name, so it's pretty easy to trace me back to the real me. I've had a website with contact info on it since 1993, so I've gotten pretty used to the idea that it is possible to track me down based on what I disclose on-line. That thought does give reason to avoid abusive behavior and not try to deliberately provoke people who seem to be hotheaded.
What brings us to share our lives? CS Lewis said, "We read to know we are not alone." That certainly rings true for me. And I write and blog in hopes that there are a few more Strangers in a Strange Land that might read my words and realize they too are not alone.
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slate11 months, 2 weeks ago
Those with 'attack' sock puppets seem to say much about their personalities. Too bad there are so many on sites such as as this one that people use their nicks as a means to be outwardly vicious to others or demean others on the opposite political isle in a personal way. Be who you are even if you don't use your real name, be true to yourself and try as best you can to do it in as civil way as possible without letting others trample you into submission or run you off.
A select few here know my real name,,,, and they also know my 'other' nick which I use on IM,,,,, one I can't use here.
I use Slate here because it suits me,,,,, dumber than stone yet strong willed,,,,, older than dirt
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1basque111 months, 2 weeks ago
Very interesting article spadecaller !
I will be the first to tell you "I never said that I was good". I also believe that it is O. K. if I don't have an opinion.
"The only person that believes your lies is yourself", I can't say how many times that I said that to my kids as they were growing up. They also think that I am crazy !!! If you don't learn it ...you keep livin it.
I carry my guns on my hips, no knife hidden behind my back.
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crespi11 months, 2 weeks ago
Being a Neocon-hunter I have had many threats from the far right.
Fine. I could handle it.
But I use another name because I don't want to put my family at risk from these violent loons.
Propeller is what the Founding Fathers wanted for our Democracy, open discussion without physical intimidation.
(I received a few serious threats on the old Netscape, so I'm GLAD those Christian(!) (that's what they called themselves) as*holes couldn't locate my family and do them harm.)
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Spadecaller11 months, 2 weeks ago
The Inquisition never ended despite the rumors to the contrary.
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agentX11 months, 2 weeks ago
"Many members do more than use pseudonyms; they turn their online lives into biographical fiction."
More like theatrical drama or science fiction if you ask me...some members on this board (you know who you are) actually think they are GOD/Speak for God/think Bush is God's tool. And certain members of this board (we know who) think that their membership in a group or political party gives their perspective more credence to the truth that someone who is not. You could also say that there are a few members here who act like it's their purpose in life to bash those who disagree with them, AND THEN complain when they get bashed back.
Me, I always believe in the Golden Rule of Blogging- If you can't say it to a person's face, don't type it at all. That means essentially if you aren't prepared to fight over it, then perhaps it should not be said.
The caveat is that if you're a 90 pound weakling, then you're not gonna have many negative things to say.
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