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

Greg Crinklaw wrote:
Brian, I disagree. As I see it the primary reason there is so much
juvenile posting on newsgroups (including trolling) is due to the lack
of accountability. Using a real name means that the poster is laying
his/her real life credibility on the line every time he/she posts. And
while that may not mean that everyone would behave themselves, I do
believe that if posters used their real names more there would be less
childish antics.

As I've said here before, I stand behind my stupid statements 100%. Why
should others get away with being able to say anything they want, no
matter how hurtful, obnoxious, or stupid, because they are hiding behind
an alias?

Consider the post you just responded to. It was absolutely outrageous.
In fact, it could be considered libelous. But we have no idea who
made these ridiculous accusations or why. Was he serious? Pulling my
leg? Trolling? There is no way to know. So why give this person any
respect at all? As you see from my response, I chose not to. As far as
I'm concerned anyone who uses an alias to post here is someone with very
little credibility.

Would I respect Rod Mollise as much if he posted under the pseudonym
"SouthernComfort?" My personal answer is no. I'd still respect him,
because, heck, he's Rod, but not quite as much...

Consider as well that the names you mentioned as regular posters here
are very likely real. Unlike you, I have no doubt about that. And add
yourself to that list as well as others such as Chris Peterson.

I also think it works the other way around. I know I'm personally far
more likely to be rude to someone hiding behind an alias that someone
using their real name. It's just plain easier to rip "dumbasstargazer"
a new one. ;-)

The only exception I can think of is Starlord. He uses an alias but
does not hide behind it. We all know him, alias or not. But that's one
exception to what seems to me a pretty hard and fast rule.

It's been said that people say hurtful outrageous things on newsgroups
that they would never say face to face. I believe that's true. And I
also believe that signing your real name is a step away from that
unfortunate and ugly reality.

So once again I'll make a plea for real names and suggest that at least
for some of us, it is very difficult to earn respect using an alias.

We may just have to agree to disagree, I suppose. I acknowledge that
I'm making a pretty subtle point--one that practically speaking does not
make a *lot* of difference, on Usenet at least. But I think it does
make *some* difference.

With respect to Willie's post, I've seen him post, recently, lots of
good on-topic material, which was why I was surprised by the one that
started this thread. So I guess that's my point: Understandably, you're
pretty hurt by that characterization. But unless you've been paying
close attention, you might not have noticed that he had been using a
pseudonym. So the question is, are you more bothered by the hurtful
nature of the posting, or by the fact that he posted under a pseudonym?
As the target of that post, you might feel differently, but it seems to
me that for most people, it would be the former that would be the
problem.

I also think that Starlord is a meaningful exception, and not just one
that proves the rule, as the old saying goes. He is an exception
precisely *because* he posts consistently. I think if other folks
tried to forge a posting from him, without having read his posts here on
SAA over the years, they would probably fail; we'd spot them a mile
away. We've come to know what general kind of posts to expect from him.

All that being said, I do agree that people are somewhat less likely to
act unreasonably when they sign their real name to a post, but I think
it is not a requirement to do so. Suppose my name were in fact
something different (that isn't actually true, except for the fact that
"Brian" is a nickname I use everywhere, simply for convenience), and
suppose I were to divulge that suddenly. I don't think that would
invalidate the Usenet persona of "Brian Tung" that has accumulated over
a period of more than a decade. It's possible that some folks might
think less of me as a result, but personally, I think that would say
less about me than it would about them--not negative, necessarily, but
not someone I would want to know well.

All this by way of saying that accountability is not required to confer
a sense of responsibility (nor does it always do so), and if I have to
choose between the two, I choose the latter.

--
Brian (Yeh-Ching) 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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