Defending the right to pseudonymity and anonymity;

[Stella_Omega]

The My Name Is Me project opened its virtual doors about two hours ago.

It's going to take me forever to write out my statement, but psuedonymity gave me the freedom to practice being myself. What you see from Stella-- clever or dippy, brave or stupid-- that's who I am IRL, only I hope, with fewer missteps... And a little more avoirdupois. But I'm getting back in shape, baby.

Anyway, hundreds more people know me as Stella than by my "real" name.

So there you have it... some people might want to join in, some not.

 

[BrielleJameson]

Thanks for sharing this! I have 2 online names I use, this one included. I will likely write at least 1 statement.

 

[Kurokami]

Okay, first off Stella, thanks for the word "avoirdupois." I've never heard it before, but I've gotta admit, it's pretty awesome.

Second, I'll see about supporting this thing, because my own pseudonymity has been incredibly liberating for me. Aside from merely affording me the freedom to be myself, in a pure and undiluted form, without fear of judgement (at least, judgement that sticks) the ability to use a pseudonym is very important to me. I don't use my real name online because I don't want to give my father even a single handhold to get back into my life. I don't want him to find me. It's the reason I don't have Facebook, (well, one of them) it's the reason my sisters don't have Facebook, it's... well, you get the idea.

But here? I get to run around without fear and meet a lot of people I quite like, all because I'm allowed to be anonymous. And that's great.

 

[voluptuary_manque]

Commendable website. As one who fell in the last category of those who use online pseudonyms, I support their endeavor. In my current retired state, I no longer need the anonymity but prefer to retain it. People from this site have even met me wearing my avatar as my nametag. Here, that is who I am and what I am. Facebook and Google+ can be sodomized with a cholla!

 

[Pure]

ok, but

ok, i'm with you all in seeing the benefits, but no one has mentioned the down side, and how it's to be dealt with. e.g. continued defamations, threats of various sorts including death, conspiracies and so on. do you want ISP's protecting these sorts? or putting it differently, IF you wan to protect the Stellas, can you avoid protecting a bunch of riff raff, some of them evildoers?

from the other side, there are, at present, very MILD (weak) barriers to loss of anonymity (google "what is my IP number?" and see the info). to preserve it requires serious measures that are NOT commonly found.

 

[Stella_Omega]

Pure, there are some people on the internet who think that Stella is riff raff that deserves to die in a fire. And they say so.*

But you know what? Those people can't so easily say that (real name) is riff raff that deserves to die in a fire.

The other thing too is that pseudonyms don't have be.. funny names, like Stella Omega. I could have handled myself "Jane MacAllister." Google+ wouldn't think twice about it, and Jane MacAllister could be just as confrontational as Stella Omega is, and never be linked to (real name). Of course any real Jane MacAllisters out there would soon wish I hadn't dragged their names into the dirt.



*One of them says so under his real name every once in awhile-- partly because he's furious that I chose pseudonymity while he chose to post under his real name. It's hurt his reputation and his livelihood, frankly. Now he's claiming that those horrible evil pseuds have torpedoed his career.

You will notice that I don't name his name because I actually think he has the right to be anonymous in his opinion. Or pseudonymous. It's a principle that's so ingrained in me that I protect it even for people who never asked me to.

 

[3113]

On the other hand....

I grant that I don't see anyway to guarantee real names and rid the web of anonymity--and as I use a pseudonym myself, I can hardly argue the other side unequivocally. However, to play Devil's advocate, there is a great deal of rudeness and cruelty on the web--and I'm talking commonly, not riff-raft--that is due, in part, to the fact (1) That people don't view other people with these silly names as real people and (2) because these anonymous people know there will be no real world consequences, no repercussions.

You rag on the gent who suffered for using his own name, yet shouldn't he? What if he'd said all that horrible stuff anonymously and wasn't able to be repaid for his discourtesy? You might think well of him now if he'd used a pseudonym. Might be his friend, might get e-mails from him about his family and friends. Would you be happy to know that your best friend was, on line, someone who scared you and who you didn't want to be associated with?

Why should rudeness go unpunished? Why should discourtesy? How will any of us learn to be better if we never have to think twice about what we're posting because we can just change our name and become someone else? When people use their real names, then they do have to worry about their reputations; and this means that they learn to think before they speak...or, if they don't, they pay for it.

 

[Stella_Omega]

No, I rag on the gent for bitching about it now.

I rag on the gent for going on crusades to out people who made the other choice, for ferreting out their real names and posting them, because he was bested on the internet. And damn he was creuel and intemperate, and bullheaded and obtuse-- using his real name didn't stop him for one moment, even though it theoretically should have. It still hasn't. And he's doing this in front of the whole world, not just in front of his friends in a living room or ina hotel lobby somewhere. So yeah, if he ever gets his meds straight-- I would have liked for him to be able to step away from this sordid episode. People say he's a good guy, under there.

The idea that those silly names are not real people? Is pretty rare these days. We have been using pseuds since the usenet days. And it isn't that easy to "change your name and start over," someone showed up at the BDSM forum here, to tell everyone about the True and Right Way to Own a Slave... and in a matter of two days of his trolling, his internet history showed up-- three handle changes, same song every time, since the alt.net days.

Interestingly, there's a discussion going on right now, regarding a rape. And the discussion is about one pseudonym who raped another pseudonym. Everyone knows these people as real people, many folk have met both of them in real life. But on the internet, the case (mostly) being discussed via their handles. The repercussions devolve on real people, and everyone knows this, and everyone also knows the faces and forms of those real people. And the fact that one of the principles (the attacker) has asked for a name change on one of their outside forums? Hell, everyone knows it. And it isn't because they are trying to pretend they are someone else now. They only want to do so because Google shows up some of the discussion by that particular handle. .

What pseudonyms do, in this case, actually, is maintain a village. I know you face to face, and bear, and a few other folk. I talk with some people here and by their real names on Facebook. But I don't use your 'real name' or Bear's, here. That's how we make sure that happens in Lit stays on lit, and doesn't end up on Google forever.

The gent in question could have operated the same way. HE would have known who he was talking to, and his opponents would have known too-- but Google wouldn't bring up all those results, and whatever problems his career is facing, at least that wouldn't be part of it.


I guess the short version of all of this is, "wherever you go, there you are." This is true on the internet as well as in real life. It's obvious that the gent doesn't quite get that. But it didn't need to be his problem.

 

[3113]

I rag on the gent for going on crusades to out people who made the other choice, for ferreting out their real names and posting them, because he was bested on the internet.

My point, Stella, is that you are pointing out that this guy suffered for using his own name. Now I'll grant that he could have taken the anonymous road and saved himself a whole lot of trouble--but if he had, you wouldn't know who he was and wouldn't be able to avoid him in real life.

So, his use of his real name, detrimental as it was to him, has been of benefit to you, hasn't it? So why support anonymity when it offers such a benefit?

 

[sr71plt]

Hmmm, well. Maybe the answer is not to live such a big life on the Internet.

 

[3113]

Hmmm, well. Maybe the answer is not to live such a big life on the Internet.

You mean send everyone back to their little, truly anonymous lives in the real world? Yeah, like that's gonna happen

 

[Stella_Omega]

My point, Stella, is that you are pointing out that this guy suffered for using his own name. Now I'll grant that he could have taken the anonymous road and saved himself a whole lot of trouble--but if he had, you wouldn't know who he was and wouldn't be able to avoid him in real life.

So, his use of his real name has been of benefit to you, hasn't it? So why support anonymity when it offers such a benefit?

Well, if he turns out to be the same kind of asshole in real life as he is online, it won't take me long to learn to avoid him-- in real life.

I can name another SF writer whom we shall call "Mr. Grabby Hands"at the conventions, and "Dumb as Fuck Email man" online... But actually, I won't. Still, anyone who googles for his name will find a lot of discussion about his bad habits, because standing in a room full of female fans doesn't seem to do much for his impulse control.And it used to be that his reputation let him get away with it...

And again, pseudonymity is NOT the same as anonymity.

By using a commonly known and personal to him pseud, our gent would NOT have been trying to hide who he really is. Those of us who needed to know, would know. Google would turn up less vitriol when innocent readers search for his books, and his books can stand or fall on their own merit.

 

[sr71plt]

You mean send everyone back to their little, truly anonymous lives in the real world? Yeah, like that's gonna happen

They could take an international cruise and pretend to be someone else while on that.

 

[3113]

They could take an international cruise and pretend to be someone else while on that.

Nah. Have you see cruise ships these days?

http://www.cruiselines.us/cruiseship_pride_of_america_cover.jpg

Fuckin' floating cities carrying thousands of people. No one would notice you even if you did pretend to be someone important.

 

[3113]

Well, if he turns out to be the same kind of asshole in real life as he is online, it won't take me long to learn to avoid him-- in real life.

So, to you the benefit of learning ahead of time that you didn't want any contact with him was minimal at best? I guess there's no point to anyone using a real name then. It seems all detriment and no benefit.

 

[sr71plt]

Nah. Have you see cruise ships these days?

http://www.cruiselines.us/cruiseship_pride_of_america_cover.jpg

Fuckin' floating cities carrying thousands of people. No one would notice you even if you did pretend to be someone important.

We look for the smaller ones. I agree it would be no fun in one of those.

 

[Stella_Omega]

So, to you the benefit of learning ahead of time that you didn't want any contact with him was minimal at best? I guess there's no point to anyone using a real name then. It seems all detriment and no benefit.

Welll... it does put us in extremely vulnerable positions, because the internet is so very hugely global. Small discourtesies are never forgotten... long after the principles have kissed and made up... Someone comes across the traces...

 

[voluptuary_manque]

Hence my attempt to be reasonable and polite to everyone, even when I periodically stick my paw in my mouth. At least apologies never hurt.

 

[Handley_Page]

The My Name Is Me project opened its virtual doors about two hours ago.

It's going to take me forever to write out my statement, but psuedonymity gave me the freedom to practice being myself. What you see from Stella-- clever or dippy, brave or stupid-- that's who I am IRL, only I hope, with fewer missteps... And a little more avoirdupois. But I'm getting back in shape, baby.

Anyway, hundreds more people know me as Stella than by my "real" name.

So there you have it... some people might want to join in, some not.

Oh Stella, your name might be Carol or Susan or anything, but you are only Stella to us, and mighty pleased we are to know it, too.
If I get to understand what that site is about, I may try it.