No name
: Glenn Reynolds reiterates his stance on anonymous blogging (and commenting, I would add). I’ve said it before but he says it well.
15 responses to “No name”
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A lot of women in this country are being stalked by ex-husbands, former boyfriends, or murderous relatives.
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A lot of men are scared of being stalked by their wife’s ex-husband, former boyfriends, or murderous relatives.
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A lot of ex-spouses, lovers and murderous relatives in this country are being stalked by the police.
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It’s nothing but cowardice, without exception.
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Just try to have a non-antiUS, pro-war in Iraq, Bush-is-not-an-asshole view in certain places (most of europe, certainly in Spain where I’m based). You’d spend more time defending yourself from ad homimen attacks and, particularly for professionals related to the media industry (I’m a consultant), such views are almost a professional death sentence.
this is why I use a pen name, or pseudonym, if you like the word better, but I use it consistently and can be matched to the words I have been writing in the blog where I’m contributing or in comments such as this one. there’s a whole persona which has grown since I started to participate in the blogosphere, and actually it wouldn’t be easy to abandon the equity built around it (pardon the jargon). You think a pen name can never be honestly used, Jeff? -
Since when did it become a crime NOT to be a self-promoting narcissistic attention-craving blowhard?
Using handles, or aliases, has a long and honorable tradition online. It’s all you latecoming arriviste boomer blogtards who hitched up your Dockers and said, “Honey, I’m gonna be a STAR on this here internet thingy” who all cattle-rushed to get “brand you” in front of “eyeballs” in order to “monetize” the “p-2-p infospace.”
After this little infobubble pops, smart folks like Atrios will still be around.
Salon has yanked Farah’s byline from the anonyblogging piece, btw. -
I suppose it might always be regarded as cowardice, without exception, but that would have to depend on how naive and ignorant those making such a judgement are about the circumstances of others.
Is anyone seriously suggesting that anonymous bloggers from dangerous countries like Iraq and Iran should identify themselves and risk the consequences, no matter what, in order to warrant respect and credibility? A cry of “put up or shut up” might lead someone to put up and be shut up, so I would be careful about throwing around accusations of cowardice.
For myself, I comment anonymously because I use this identity to combat the BBC. Under this name, I admit to watching television without a licence – a criminal offence in England with a fine of up to -
“I suppose it might always be regarded as cowardice, without exception, but that would have to depend on how naive and ignorant those making such a judgement are about the circumstances of others.”
Apparently I was too subtle… -
Heh, I did consider your comment for subtlety, but ruled against on balance – given the reactionary nature of a lot of commenters here.
Oh well, not the first time someone has made a prat of me, and doubtless not the last. I’ll be watching out for your handle from now on… ;-) -
If I were to blog, I would probably do it pseudonymously for a couple of reasons: First, I own a business and wouldn’t want to turn off current and future clients with my opinionated pronouncements, and second, so that my blog could outlive me by being handed off to someone else who simply assumes my pseudonym. Who knows, perhaps someday blogs will actually have resale value!
Jeff, if you’d just assume a nom-de-blog to match your URL (posting as “Buzz” Machine) one day you might be able to sell the whole shootin’ match for millions and retire. -
Glenn is so smart. I like reading him because he links to Misha, the Pseudonomyous death-threat broker and not Atrios, because of his principled and honest stance on Pseudoanonymity: as long as your on the far right threatening to kill people, you get a link, but if you call people human scum from the center-left, you get reviled.
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You’d think that for all the times he’s talked about him he’d get added to the blogroll, which is what I was talking about, no? I mean, if that tripemerchant Misha…
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“You’d think that for all the times he’s talked about him he’d get added to the blogroll, which is what I was talking about”
Sure. -
Well, his fakename is “Hipocrite” (sic).
