On the radio talking about all this

Rather than derail threads on other topics with the anonymous/public argument, I’ll throw my two cents in here…

The way I see it, there’s a pretty wide spectrum of anonymous posters on here and I think it’s important to break them out separately:

1. Flamers/trolls/bashers – says ridiculous stuff just to piss others off, slanderous at time, doesn’t add to the discussion. Probably could do without these folks but since we learn who they are, we can tune them out. Not all trolls are anonymous either. If you aren’t contributing anything to the discussion, you’re a troll no matter whether you put a name or not. You earn a reputation for being a valid voice on here by saying worthwhile stuff (just like you have a reputation anywhere).
Keep posting trash and folks discount what you say. Many of us find Buddy Corbett to be a troll and he is not anonymous. No matter what the topic, he seems incapable of adding any real points to consider and would prefer to just jump in with his usual “Look at me, I’m Buddy Corbett” bit.

2. Says what they mean, not what they’d say in public – these posters do hide behind an identity to some extent but are expressing a valid opinion. We’d lose this voice if we forced comments to be public which would be a shame. I come here to debate issues that are important to the community and want to here diverse perspectives. I care more about someone’s reputation on here for posting meaningful arguments than I do who they are or what they do for a living.

3. Privacy concerned – I consider myself in this group and suspect others do as well. Basically, I won’t say stuff online that I wouldn’t say in person. That said, I don’t want random people who I don’t know digging around trying to find out who I am. Not because I am embarassed of what I say but it’s kind of creepy to have yourself out on the internet for all to see. I don’t have a Facebook account and don’t Tweet because I like a little privacy.
This group generally posts using partial names and if you know them in real life, you’d know what they are saying so there is some accountability. If you don’t know them in real life, you can’t go snooping around making judgments on people you’ve never met. Another group that we would lose if private comments are disabled like some advocate.

I support everyone’s right to post as they desire. As long as folks aren’t impersonating someone else and sticking with one name, I can easily choose who to listen to by their screenname.

hey anonymous asswipe thanks for making my point. until people post under their real names its not a conversation. who cares who you are.your own inflated sense of self importance is what leads to your fear.get over yourself and start really talking to real folks. what you really seem to fear is the destruction of your cozy little clique of like minded poseurs. i have been calling for the end of mystery comments since i first got on this once decent blog.call me what you will,but function in society everyday as a impotent goof too afraid to engage his neighbors in an honest conversation and you cheapen your own input.why would i not blow the doors off of a cartoon commentator waxing wroth….. then signing his name with a pseudonym? if you cant see the humor no wonder you dont get it! let go of your fear bud….its liberating.oh and stay off my bridge.unless you can pay the troll!

Buddy, after retracing your post and trying to strip out your actual argument, I will say I generally agree with the core of what you are saying. If this were truly a blog only viewed by Church Hill residents, I’d post my name for all to see. However it is viewed outside the community by folks who none of us know. That’s the reason I use a pseudonym everywhere I post on the Internet even where the topics are non-controversial. Call it paranoid if you want but some of us have a great deal to lose if someone steals our identity.

If there’s a way to limit access to the board so it is really just our neighbors that I’m talking to I’m probably fine with going by my full name.

Just a little side note…some may think is rather humorous… I blogged with a woman for years on my personal blog, only to find out recently that she was a he. I felt rather deceived, especially in light that I thought I was getting insight from a woman’s point of view. Lol really fooled me, but he gave super relationship advice, as well as good fashion tips. Lol

There was a bit of media attention recently around the girl in Damascus blog, turned out to be an American male blogging from Scotland, not a girl in Syria at all. But that’s out and out pretending to be someone you are not. I simply post here using my initials, and I do it for all the reasons laid out by Alex – not wanting to be too public, and security. Those who know me, know my initials. I often hear privately from friends and we discuss things from this blog offline, either in email or in person (gasp – what a concept, in person LOL).

Alex, I rather like your three categories, and I probably fall into category three, as I also want some privacy, and I don’t say stuff here that I wouldn’t say in person. Again, those who know me can attest to that.

Great job today! Open Source is the best radio show around.

Name vs no-name. Attribution and names don’t matter to me. If the comment’s good, I don’t care who wrote it. If it’s not, I can just not read it. There are still arguments about who wrote large sections of the Bible, or whether Shakespeare really wrote (all of) his plays. But people still give weight to both. Nice thing about some of the attributed posts is that I can view the name and either skip the comment (because having read postings by that person before I’ve decided I’m not interested); or read what the poster has to say (because having read posting by that person before I know further reading is worthwhile). Of course skipping comments by a poster I’ve decided to ignore could be hazardous to my ‘enlightenment’ because the poster might actually have something worthwhile. But in a world with shrinking options, the decision is mine: to read, ignore or post my name.
Ann Wortham