Re: Reflections from Coe: Looking In The Mirror Again...

Willie R. Meghar wrote:
From what I've noticed the two most outspoken exponents for posting
with a real name (and against posting with an alias) include in their
signature either a book or software from which they stand to make
financial gain. Furthermore, one or the other of these individuals
will occasionally respond to known trolls and/or off-topic postings
for no apparent reason (unless it's to further propagate the
advertisements contained within their signatures).

If you're not selling something or looking for handouts there's little
reason to provide a true identity or personal contact information with
your postings. The argument that one can tell the worth of a posting
by whether or not an alias is used is totally bogus.

A person's real name, by itself, has no greater significance than a
made up alias. It's only when that name is used to search for a
physical address, phone number or other personal information that it
gains a greater significance.

These occasional postings advocating the use of real names may (or may
not) in reality be efforts to gain names with which to do searches for
more critical personal information. It raises an even larger red flag
when the request comes from someone with something to sell.

I think you're being a bit hard on Greg. He does sell a product, but as
far as I can tell, he doesn't come here to sell it. And I certainly do
not think he's harvesting names! He's been here for several years, and
if he were harvesting names, I think we'd all have heard about it by
now.

There is value in seeing a real name, but I don't think it's the fact
that's the real name; it's the fact that it's permanent. I have no real
clue as to whether any of the folks that go by the names Rod Mollise,
Greg Crinklaw, Stephen Paul, or whoever--whether those are really their
names. It doesn't matter, as far as SAA is concerned. What I do know
is that I know what to expect out of the posts their names are attached
to. That, in my opinion, is the value of using a real name. One could
do the same thing with a pseudonym like Lumpy Darkness, who I know has
been posting to SAA, off and on, for a long time indeed. I know what
kind of posts he produces (and for the record, I like them), and that's
what matters here.

I seem to recall that you're using a pseudonym yourself, and that might
be why you take umbrage at Greg's rationale for his request, but I also
read your posts, because I know that posts with the "Willie Meghar"
stamp are generally full of useful content. :)

So, although I disagree with Greg on a matter of principle--that it's
the reality of names that make a post meaningful, rather than their
constancy--I will be an equal-opportunity disagreer <g> and say that I
can't believe Greg has a nefarious purpose in mind in pushing for the
use of real names. It simply does not accord with what I know of him
from his posts.

--
Brian Tung <brian@xxxxxxx>
The Astronomy Corner at http://astro.isi.edu/
Unofficial C5+ Home Page at http://astro.isi.edu/c5plus/
The PleiadAtlas Home Page at http://astro.isi.edu/pleiadatlas/
My Own Personal FAQ (SAA) at http://astro.isi.edu/reference/faq.html
.

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