the intartubes and you: reflections on anonymity.
I don’t hide behind a super-secret Internet handle. I write this blog under my real name, and anyone with half an ounce of computer skills can Google my name and dredge up all kinds of information. There are a dozen or so Internet forums (fora?) where I am a member, and I usually post under a variation of my real name there as well.
I was reading through the archive over at Heather Armstrong’s place, and it appears that she has gotten a lot of flak for sharing not only details about herself, but also for sharing pictures and details about her daughter Leta. Other big-time bloggers seem to be split on the issue–Danny Evans at Dad Gone Mad doesn’t post any pictures of his children, because he says that his first duty is to protect them, whereas John Scalzi has no issues with posting pictures of his daughter Athena. Many of the most widely read bloggers freely share much information about themselves, and some stay fiercely anonymous.
I post pictures of my children, and I suppose that this increases their exposure to potential harm, since anyone with an Internet connection and mad Google skillz could probably figure out where we live. I made the choice to write about them anyway, since a.) they are obviously a big part of my life, and b.) most of my readers seem to enjoy the pictures and anecdotes. Rest assured that I am highly selective about the things I post, and that I choose to keep private 99% of the things that transpire here at the Munchkin Wrangler ranch. I also don’t consider myself nearly important enough to maintain anonymity–if people like Heather by-God-Dooce Armstrong, one of the most widely read bloggers in the country, or John Scalzi, a bestselling author, can post about themselves and their families without getting abducted/raped/killed in their sleep by stalkers, I think I have very little to fear from my Internet audience. My take is that we run risks every time we venture into public, and that it’s wise to mitigate those risks as much as possible, but that there’s a point at which you have to sacrifice living your life and being social for the added safety that comes with obscurity. I enjoy writing the stuff I do, and I think that, all factors considered, it’s an acceptable tradeoff.
My concerns about Internet stalkers are also greatly mitigated by the fact that we’re well-armed and skilled with our weapons, and that we have a highly sensitive alarm system. When I think about the possibility of someone breaking in and doing something to my family, I don’t feel much fear, but rather a great swell of pity for the poor soul who would come to this place looking for trouble. (Imagine that last bit spoken with a Professor Xavier/Patrick Stewart sort of accent.)
When I look at my blogroll, the anonymous bloggers outnumber the openly named ones by a factor of at least two to one, so my attitude towards anonymity is probably not the most common one in the Blogosphere. I know some of you by name, and a lot of you by screen name only. I have my picture up on my blog, but I don’t know what many of you look like in real life.
Why do you choose to post under your real name, or choose to remain anonymous? Do you think it’s irresponsible to put up the pictures and names of one’s children, and the city/town of residence? Do you consider your existence Google-proof? What’s the difference between posting your childrens’ names and pictures on Flickr, and taking them out into public where a zillion strangers can notice them and potentially just take down our license plate number or follow us home? Are you unconcerned about people finding out your real identity, or paranoid about it?
May 3, 2008 at 5:45 pm
Been stalked. My real last name is uncommon and I share plenty of information about my general (large) neighborhood and what I do for a living. Filling in the rest of the puzzle would be an unacceptable risk.
However, please note the main reason for avoiding confilct is ‘cos Idon’t want to have to shoot some nitwit it would be simpler to never meet. There’s a lot of paperwork, plus the bleeding is unesthetic.
May 3, 2008 at 6:09 pm
Good poll.
I’ve done a little of both.
In the end, I usually post without my full name, and use a handle in gun forums, but a consistent one. There are a couple reasons:
1) I already get enough spam.
I was REALLY upset when I lived in an apt. building and once got email spam for my physical downstairs neighbor. (think about that for a minute.) I cleared the auto-filter spam file on my server 6 weeks ago, and already have 230MB of new junk. And that’s not even counting what makes it through to my desktop to either be auto or manually filtered again.
2) I work in NYC in IT, which means I can reasonably expect to be googled by any prospective employer, and can reasonably expect them to be freaked out by finding my name all over gun boards.
3) The internet isn’t the friendly place it used to be. Back in ‘96-’00 I would have been delighted to see my name all over the web. Now it’s…. “crowded”, and harder to trust the anonymous masses.
Not sure my motivates are entirely in that order.
When comment posting I’ll usually use something like ‘E’, which, at least, is a name I respond to IRL if’n I know you well enough.
-E
May 3, 2008 at 6:20 pm
Does anyone consider it egotistical to post online in whatever form under an assumed screen name? Like we feel we’re more important than we are. What Marko said about most of us not being famous enough to warrant anonymity is pretty spot on.
I think I use it a screen name here and on the many forums I frequent more because someone might recognize me by it around the “intartubes” more readily than they would my real name. But, I guess I feel it’s one of those prudence things, like not sharing your SSN or credit card info. What’s funny is my name is not common and I used to easily pull up on Google every time it’s ever been published. Almost every hit would be about me, there weren’t many but the first few would always be spot on, as long as I “googled” specifically. The last couple times I’ve done it I’ve had more and more people with my name pop up who aren’t me, work for ESPN, play football for the CFL, etc. So maybe I feel a little more anonymous now and would be more comfortable posting my name.
Marko is absolutely right in that if someone wants to find you, find out where you live or work, they will have little trouble doing so. And if they want me that bad, then let them come. I’m a Marine, I spent 7 long months patrolling the streets of Fallujah in 2006, I don’t have children, I’m single, and my family are a thousand miles away (well, this is all pretty depressing) so I don’t have much to lose besides a few rounds of 9mm. A rather liberating feeling…
May 3, 2008 at 6:52 pm
I find as I get more over my various bits of baggage that I’ve been struggling with since I was a nipper, I’m happier about posting using my real name, and disseminating my real identity. After all, I embarass myself a lot less these days
If the warnings on the windows about high voltage apparatus, unshielded laser radiation and unshielded ionizing radiological sources don’t put a burglar off, then the 400-watt Morningstar brand power supply swung by it’s nice, whippy cable ought to put a dint in their day. That, and the fact that I’m usually still awake during burglary hours these days.
May 3, 2008 at 7:06 pm
I’m not overly cautious, but I’m careful about what I share. In the end, if someone wants to find you, as others have said, they will. I make the choice regarding what I am comfortable using for screen names, what is acceptable content to post., and I accept and bear the risk.
On the other hand, I just discovered tonight that some nitwit relatives (on the Sicilian side, not the German side - figures) have gone ahead and posted a complete geneology on the web including full names, birth dates/places and marriage information. I won’t let my family and friends give out my phone number without checking with me first - who the hell gave them the right to post all that information out there without my permission? I have some phone calls to make…
May 3, 2008 at 7:15 pm
I post under the pseudonym because I use the same one for TFL and THR and other forums, so I figure it provides continuity. Anyone who was serious about it could find my picture and my first name on TFL, and maybe even my last name if they had some good Photoshop program to blow up the pictures. I’m not sure if I have any photos on TFL where my last name is clearly in view. But I’m in the Army so I choose not to make it easy to find me since someone may be offended or concerned could report me to my chain of command over something stupid. My battalion commander just decreed that all members of the unit must register their guns with him so he knows who has them, regardless whether or not they are registered on post. I don’t feel it is any of his damn business what model guns I have or what the serial numbers are, and my company commander knows I have guns since I take my troops to my house sometimes to train on reflexive fire drills in my garage, so I have chosen to ignore the order. My company commander does not believe that the order is legally sound, and did not blink when I told him all my guns fell out of the boat when I went fishing the weekend prior when he told me of the new reporting requirement. So in order to protect myself from someone ratting me out and being disciplined for not registering all of my weapons, I choose to remain (semi-)anonymous. I have chosen to not report the order to the IG and the NRA for the moment because the battalion commander is a decent guy and a good officer who is one of the better LTCs I have worked for, and I do not wish to see his career ruined for giving an order that is just a knee-jerk reaction stemming from a Soldier in another unit in our brigade using his weapon legally in self-defense, which caused his chain of command a lot of time lost helping that Soldier with the legal issues that came afterwards.
May 3, 2008 at 7:26 pm
I mostly post under an anonymous name for similar reasons that “E” does. I’m a college student, and I’ll be graduating within the next year or so, and I don’t want my potential job prospects to be damaged because my name shows up on a bunch of gun boards. Plenty of companies do Google searches on prospective hires, particularly in the technology industry (which is where I’m headed), and given the level of PSH over firearms, I wouldn’t be surprised if an employer used it as a reason not to hire me.
If I was already within a career path and I had good job security I would post under my real name, because I doubt anyone would stalk me and, as Mister T says, I pity the fool who would try to break into my house whilst I occupy it.
Right now, if you were to Google my name you’d either find people who are completely unrelated to me, or you might find it in the list of Computer Science/Multimedia students that’s on my university’s CS homepage. That’s it, and I’d like to keep it that way, for now.
May 3, 2008 at 7:57 pm
For LabRat and I there are two main and a couple of minor factors in the use of pseudonyms. The largest is simply momentum. We both started trolling around the vast and varied tubes as teenagers when a nom-de-byte was standard operating procedure for multiple reasons. Now we’ve both got more “credibility” and history and such behind our aliases than our real names, even though we occasionally run into digital doppelgangers (such as the batshit insane “feminist” stingray we bumped into a few weeks back). Swapping over wouldn’t be a life-altering trauma in and of itself, but it would be a pain in the butt for a while. It’s easier just to run with things as they are and pass out our real names on an as-needed basis. Personally, if I get to the point of swapping emails with someone, as opposed to simply blog comments/forum exchanges, my real name goes out along with it just as a courtesy.
The second main reason is that we’re involved with a running legal battle which has lasted the last three and a half years, and doesn’t show any signs of wrapping up soon. Now I know for a fact that our veil of mystery is far from impenetrable, and a little google-fu will brush it aside like the smokescreen it is. I think Kevin Baker claimed to have found us in less than ten minutes when he got curious some time back. The twist here though is that our legal opponent is a digital-fucking-MORON (literally of the “password” for a password variety - multiple times), and connecting our blog to our real names quite realistically is beyond her capacity, nor would doing so do anything to particularly help her (slowly failing) case. It would, however, be a big pain in the ass to deal with should the enemy bother, even if the end result would be of negligible benefit to her. Here the anonymity, such as it is, is against a very specific entity and serves about half as a small protection and half as a sanity-preserving measure for us. It isn’t an iron-clad security mechanism, but it doesn’t need to be either.
On the minor front, I’m a tad concerned about having my name crop up attached to a bunch of “crazy right wing” 2A stuff if I find myself in need of a different job, but given the attitude in most of New Mexico, I’m not *that* worried. It’s an ounce of prevention pound of cure sort of thing. That, and again the momentum bit. I’ve been “Stingray” for so long, it may as well be part of my legal name. Hell, my tax guy (who I originally met online some years back) has called the house and asked for Stingray rather than my real name.
As far as stalkers and physical threats, I am largely unconcerned. Anyone wishing to raid our little lab has a couple hundred pounds of very pointy and very guard-oriented dogs to pass, along with the cute ball of compressed rage and destruction that is our cat (he actually has a track record of attacking things threatening us), and if you manage to make it past that, there’s always the death rays and firearms. The local police have a pretty good outlook on home defense as well - the last time someone hopped our fence, the cop that showed up to take the report suggested just letting the dog have ‘em if there’s a next time. Add in that the local small-town good ‘ol boy network is damned efficient, and there’s every chance most of the hill would know about someone coming up after us before they even got north of Santa Fe. The area we’re in is just plain pretty, and even though I may be biased, I think Los Alamos is a photogenic town that people would be interested in seeing, so pictures of the town/pets/etc are fair game. As far as pictures of ourselves, I’m just not photogenic, and LabRat claims she isn’t either. Other folks disagree, but it’s our blog so we can have whatever capricious rules we like.
May 3, 2008 at 8:23 pm
I blog under a thin veil of anonymity. I’d be willing to bet that anyone with half an hour to spare and some basic google skills could unearth me, but I bank on the fact that most people are just too lazy to do that.
I’d love to blog with my real name but writing about patients is a “gray area” ethically and legally.
May 3, 2008 at 8:27 pm
Being a retired teacher, I started using a pseudonym to keep former students at bay. Now I’m continuing to use the same handle from habit. (Use of the term “handle” might indicate this also grew out of CB usage.)
I’m protective of my privacy and just a little bit paranoid about some of the wackos out there. Yet my real picture is my avatar on Blogger and appeaers on my blog. So maybe I’m a bit schizophrenic too.
As I ponder the question, I’m beginning to wonder just why I do use a pen name.
May 3, 2008 at 8:37 pm
When I started blogging, the ex and I were going through a divorce and I didn’t want the fact I own guns to cause me to lose custody of my kids. She would have found some way to use it against me, I have no doubt. Now days, she knows I own guns and shoot, and her attitude toward guns has mellowed a lot.
It wouldn’t take a genius to figure out who I am, but I’ve used this pseudonym so long that I see no reason to change it. Plus, I have had three or four commenters on my blog I’d rather not meet in real life. Even though I’m armed, and I figure only an idiot would try to attack me, I still don’t relish it happening.
As far as personal info is concerned. There’s pictures and even a video or two of me on my blog and Technorati profile. I’ve mentioned my hometown and state by name a few times too. There is one picture of my kids on my blog in full costume and face paint, dressed up for Halloween, I figure it’d be pretty hard to figure out what they really look like under all that. I admit to being reticent about posting pics of my kids on my blog. Like I mentioned before, there’s some people I’d rather not meet. That goes doubly for my kids. That said though, there’s a whole lot of awesome gun bloggers I wouldn’t mind meeting and hope to some time in the future.
I hope this helps answer your questions.
May 3, 2008 at 8:51 pm
Hrm. I like my job, and want to stay employed, so I am sort of half-assed about my anonymity. I’m sure anyone could figure out who I am, given enough motivation….and I’ve met at least one blogger in person.
Hell, Dino, over at “Musings of a Not-dead-Dino” is my PCP.
I’ve posted pics of Butter Biscuit because she’s an infant, and changes every DAY…but so many blog froe4nd followed my pregnancy that I sort of felt they deserved to see the wee critter.
Cranky Husband blogs, but under a very heavy anonymous cloud. I don’t even have him blogrolled, because his job is such that scary people might come for us, and armed or not, I am not interested in dealing with that.
May 3, 2008 at 9:01 pm
Well, basically it boils down to this:
I’m *me*…but I don’t feel that the Internet needs a cross-referenced index on *me*. Between employers and random individuals who may or may not be psycho, there’s good reason to have at least a bit of anonymity. I don’t want to meet someone I’ve never seen before who knows all about me, but I don’t know anything about them.
Let the celebrities enjoy the paparazzi. I don’t want it.
May 3, 2008 at 9:28 pm
I have a little different take on it. Fact is I don’t worry about stalkers, other than for their own safety as you pointed out. I don’t worry about my kids being seen on the internet, fact is I have posted photos of them in several places.
My reason for using a nom-de-plume is that it allows me to tell the stories I do. In all honesty, some of the stories I tell, or have told, could not be written the way they were if the people in them were aware of the telling. In order for the story to make sense to my readers, I edit the conversations, maybe add a character, or remove one to help it make sense to the reader. Some are exaggerated, some are simplified to get the point across I am trying to make. Sometimes I feel I have to “explain” the humor I see in the story.
Now, many of stories or posts are actual point by point accounts of what happened. The “I built this gun/house posts are all true.
I don’t know if my employer would care about blogging what happens around the fire station or the calls we make, but I don’t want to take a chance.
As far as I know, no one, not even my family know I have a blog.
I have thought about “coming out” several times, and if my friends and family ever find out I blog, I will come out on the blog.
Mr Fixit
May 3, 2008 at 9:52 pm
I’m a right-leaning gun nut living in the Volksrepublik of Massa-f**king-chusetts. There’s maybe eight of us. Wouldn’t be too terribly hard to find out who I am.
That said, I use my nickname rather than my given name, and only the first initial of my last name, because, really, why make it too easy to Google-torpedo myself (I’ll reiterate: I’m a gun nut living in MA. I am freakin’ toxic, man…
I’ve posted pictures of my kids because, well, they’re damned cute. I refrain from using their names for their own privacy, and the remainder of my family is extended the same courtesy. I’m the exhibitionist with the keyboard, not them.
I’m sure I could be found with a bare minimum of work. Of course, the people most likely to want to find me and cause me bodily harm would be the morons I routinely meet on the road, and I’m quite certain they’re far too stupid to know how to plug in a lamp, let alone use a computer…
May 3, 2008 at 9:57 pm
I googled myself and I found I’m on the Honor Roll, I’m an Eagle scout, and my bio from high school graduation.
May 3, 2008 at 10:41 pm
Well, on the “Staff” page of Freedom Roads magazine, it lists me as William “Strings” Hilton. So does it really count as an alias?
I DO hide the faces of any of “our” kids, but that’s standard BACA procedure: any digital image of one of our kids is immediately altered that way.
Yes, there ARE folks out there who might wish me harm. And I get more with every case we work. But they already know where I am, and have a fair idea how to find me. ‘Course, they don’t necessarily know WHAT they’ll find if they ever look me up… >
May 3, 2008 at 11:33 pm
I blog out in the open because I’m an advocate, and being an anonymous advocate is kind of counterproductive. Too, when I started on the intarwebs I had a job that was not in danger should I be “outed.” I’ve since changed jobs, but I’m still - so far as I can be - “safe” in that regard.
I don’t post (much) about my family - certainly no pictures - but that’s because of the type of blog I have. It’s not about family.
I “found” Stingray (well, not really) because of something he wrote that made his actual name pretty simple to find. As he said, he’s not working hard to hide.
I figure that if someone really wants to find out who you are, you’re going to be found out - but I understand the reasoning behind using a handle instead of your given name and don’t denigrate anyone for it.
Except JadeGold.
May 3, 2008 at 11:42 pm
I don’t blog, although I have a personal website and several others that I’m responsible for. On my personal site, before I changed from hosting it on my own server at home to one at a webhost company, I used to have pictures of the family and various bits of information. (I haven’t bothered to rebuild yet.) I don’t even try to hide anything, because these websites are registered in my name, and have a contact name, phone number, e-mail address, and physical address. When I post in comments, I use my first name, and since my last name is in my e-mail address, it’s really easy to figure out who I am. Five minutes worth of work will give you enough information about me to talk to me. Since I know how easy it is, I don’t bother trying to hide. I’m a computer tech in real life, so I know just how hard real anonymity is to get.
Besides, I figure the Internet is large enough that if someone stumbles across my pages, the odds that they’ll be interested in doing me or mine harm and actually be able to get up off the couch to do it are so slim that it’s almost incalculable. Of course, I once checked my stats and realized that I had gone two months without anyone other than myself hitting the site… I might feel differently if I had a readership in the hundreds or thousands.
May 4, 2008 at 12:06 am
I work in the anonymity / cryptography field. Being semipseudonymous online is an ingrained habit of literally decades’ building. I’ve got 4 or 5 handles, some of which are better disconnected from my legal name than others. Just remember, Google never forgets anything. And I can assure you that my potential employers will look my name up. So it pays to keep things relatively clean. It may not be an issue now, but who knows what the atmosphere will be like in 25 years?
As others have said above, anyone in the right circles knows how to match things up, so it’s not like I’m doing a good job of “hiding”, just taking what I see to be sensible precautions. It’s not like it costs anything to keep up a nym.
May 4, 2008 at 12:20 am
Kevin Baker wrote: “I figure that if someone really wants to find out who you are, you’re going to be found out”
That’s certainly true, no disagreement here. However, there’s a huge gray area between:
1) the people who don’t care
************
** gray area **
************
2) the people who _really_ want to find out
I don’t feel the need to give those gray area folks any ideas or being a target of opportunity. There’s not much to be done about category #2, internet-wise. Being at risk (whatever that may be) from 5 people is not the same as being at risk from 50. I’ll take the 10-fold improvement in odds any day.
I bet there’s at least as much risk of having your credit card information stolen *from the credit card company*, so there’s only so much you can do.
-E
May 4, 2008 at 5:07 am
IMO, making it way too easy to find me also makes it much more likely that someone doing it will tip their hand before they’ve really thought things out. Every day they have to spend looking is another day spent planning.
May 4, 2008 at 7:23 am
For the most part I am an unremarkable guy. I prefer to blend in and not be the center of attention.
I think that for someone to want to do “something” to you, you would have to have, be or say something that they want or didn’t like.
I am not concerned for my safety nor for their safety. I would prefer to be left as a face in the crowd.
I do the things that I do for my own livelihood or entertainment. They do not interfere with anyone elses lives so I expect the same courtesty from them.
Curiosity aside, I don’t think people will generally “go looking” for someone to mess with.
May 4, 2008 at 7:50 am
Back in the days of dial-up bulletin boards I used handles, but started going to using just my first name online some time back in the late ’90s or so.
As far as potential future employers go, the closest thing I have to a “career field” is working in gun stores. I like to think of my 20,000+ posts on various gun fora, plus my blogs, as more of a resume than a detriment.
May 4, 2008 at 8:20 am
I used to use a pseudonym. I don’t anymore. I have several reasons.
The first thing that made me think about the value of anonymity was when a neo-Nazi who calls himself “Micetrap” decided I’d gotten too mouthy. He tracked down my real name (which did appear on my awesome Geocities site–hey, it was the ’90’s and everybody was doing it) and posted it, along with my phone number and my address. He sneeringly suggested that “all my fans should pay this traitor a visit!”
I got one phone call.
From a girl who liked my website.
It was a great lesson in the difference between one dingus with an impressive website and a real organization with actual resources and support.
Much later, I began using my own name at TFL when a few other people did the same, and since then, I’ve always done it that way. The main reason I still do it is that it reminds me that my online life and my “real” life really aren’t separate. I think most people tend to forget that. They think they’re someone else online; it’s as if they have a secret identity. You and I know, though, that there are no real secrets online, and people who think they’ve separated their “real” friends and family from their “online” acquaintances are finding more and more that the bright line they thought they saw is an illusion.
So I understand people who have one reason or another to value their anonymity, but I prefer to have my name attached to what I say.
May 4, 2008 at 8:27 am
I use an anonymous code name because the kids said I should and because I have many offensive viewpoints and an abrasive personality sometimes. I can see why some numbskull or loon might want to put my lights out.
Can’t see why anyone would want to hurt you Munchkin. You seem to be a good enough man if folks leave you alone.
May 4, 2008 at 8:33 am
Well, I bought http://www.robballen.com back in 95, I think. Kind of hard to hide your name when it’s in your URL.
Like Kevin, as an activist, I prefer to use my name. For me (I hold no one else to the same standard), I believe in what I say and feel it has more impact when I use my real identity to do so. Of course, that is a by product as I’ve been using my real name for 13 years online.
As for my girls, Georgia and Irelyn, being that I have no problem showing them bearing arms, I’m not too worried about it. If someone Googles my name and it is brought up during and interview or whatever, fine. Again, I am so positive that my view is right that I have nothing to hide and nothing to fear.
May 4, 2008 at 8:35 am
Except JadeGold.
That’s a “name” I haven’t heard for awhile. Yes, that’s a good example of the “anonymous advocate” someone mentioned, who probably acts very, very differently in real life and thinks he’s leading a double life. One day, he might find that his two lives aren’t as separate as he thinks. The internet is still part of the real world, after all. Even if that doesn’t happen, nobody takes his advocacy seriously except people who already agreed with him.
Actually, it occurs to me that we’re taking a lot on faith, here. I post under my real name, as does Marko–but while we’re explaining why we do that, how would any of you know that we don’t have five or six anonymous throwaway identities in addition to our real ones? For all you know, I might be JadeGold.
I don’t think my current employers (two school districts and a semi-volunteer ambulance service) have any reason to think I’ve done anything wrong. I never name them or identify them, and I certainly don’t violate student or patient confidentiality. I also never claim to speak for my employers, or even imply it. Being a schoolteacher is a lot like being a police officer in that regard. I can get away with saying a lot of things, but only as long as I’m not wearing my Malcolminthe Middle School t-shirt or my Hitem High School jacket. My administrators all know I’m a wild-eyed libertarian gun nut, so I don’t expect the shock to be too great when they finally stumble upon my writings. There’s a balance to be maintained, too, between the value of discretion and the dangers of shock. Try to keep things secret which aren’t actually shameful, and you risk getting a very bad reaction when you eventually get “outed,” simply because it’s assumed that you wouldn’t have hidden away something of which you were not ashamed. But in the end, I suppose the biggest factor is how much you trust your bosses, your friends and your family. I trust mine. My boss is feared by many, but not by me. She’s tough, yes, but I always know where I stand with her and she will never stab me in the back. She might slug me in the front, but that’s OK.
May 4, 2008 at 8:53 am
[...] Update: Related thoughts on anonymity and blogging from a blogger who is not anonymous. [...]
May 4, 2008 at 10:43 am
I’m an attorney, so I don’t really give a rat’s ass whether or not anyone connects me with conservative gunblogging — but I live in the San Francisco Bay Area and my wife works in the public school system. I keep myself anonymous for her. She’s enough of a “star” that anything I say or do might not prevent her from getting another job if she ever left her current one, but the risk is very real.
May 4, 2008 at 11:05 am
haven’t seen this reasoning mentioned…i use “the pawnbroker” because that’s what i am (or was), and most of what i read and write has some relation to that…i think it gives both the readers of my own blog as well as my comments on other blogs some idea of where i’m coming from.
that said, i also usually sign off on posts and comments with my real initials jtc, and much of what i write references the real towns and occurrences that have made me who and what i am…i’ve nothing to hide, and even if i did, as others have said, someone who wants to find me would have little trouble doing so…so i’ll make it easier for them by signing here with my full name and trusting that most will know that my specific business experience and even more specific personal attitudes would be pretty detrimental to the well being of anyone with any malicious intent.
james terry curtiss
May 4, 2008 at 11:49 am
May 4, 2008 at 11:50 am
Oh bletch. For want of a slash, my formatting is b0rked. Dunno how the bold tag got turned on either. Well, phooey!
May 4, 2008 at 7:22 pm
[...] so you don’t have to. I can sympathize with both sides - three of the bloggers I know best, Marko, Les Jones & Say Uncle, have weighed in with their reasons for why they blog, how they [...]
May 4, 2008 at 8:31 pm
Ironically, I just learned from my supervisor today that he did exactly what has been mentioned many times so far on this topic: he googled me, checked myspace and Facebook, etc. He didn’t find anything beside an outdated Linked-in page but I found it interesting that he told me about it right after this whole topic was just discussed.
May 5, 2008 at 1:32 am
My true identity is of such sensitivity to national security that I have a driver’s license and Social Security identification issued under my Internet handle.
But if I did choose to post under my real name, one reason might be to avoid the natural temptation toward Walter Mitty-esque BS that we see all too often.
May 5, 2008 at 3:36 am
I really don’t mind people who know me finding my blog — but I don’t want to be easily found via Google for future job purposes. The fact of the matter is that my field isn’t full of computer-savy people, so they’d probably google my first and last names, see what came up and leave it at that.
I wasn’t even all that shocked or troubled when my dissertation supervisor found my blog — although I was happy not to have posted any complaints about him
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May 5, 2008 at 9:18 am
I suspect my Screen name can be back tracked to my real name with relatively little work, and probably vise-versa. Except that searches for my real name get cluttered with lots of vacation photos taken in cities with similar names.
I started with the screen name because having a ‘handle’ was cool, then kept it up to provide simplicity in remembering what login name I used where.
Now I’m not too worried about my security, both because no one knows who I am, and because I shoot back; but I am worried about making my next employer have to work for any google hits he gets on me (mostly because I don’t like to mix work and my personal life).
AE
May 5, 2008 at 9:26 am
I generally use a handle for gaming related forums, and my name or part of it for politcal forums. Which would make more sense if it were reversed I suppose, but since I generally use my WoW main’s name for gaming handles, it makes a sense of continuity.
I don’t doubt some employers would be inclined to google me, but considering the bizzare number of people who have my name and made a name of it, I probably would have my pick of online identities. I don’t think anyone would confuse me with the bassist for “Mors Syphilitica” but I might be able to pull off some of the others.
May 5, 2008 at 3:47 pm
I value my privacy.
Simple as that.
I post pictures of me, and my general location, but besides my face, I keep my blog free of any other identifying features and my name. Additionally, were I to use my name, it would limit my job opportunities because my views are not exactly popular in california.
If someone is determined enough, they’ll be able to find you. By making personal details only slightly more difficult to obtain, you minimize the threat dramatically.
Of course, my blog serves no official capacity (posting my projects, making my resume available), so I have little reason to post my real name. Some people don’t have that luxury.
May 5, 2008 at 4:14 pm
Well i have kids, I have posterd pics of my kids on my blog. but as I have said many times on my show, and in my blog, I’ve had 10 hard years of working security in the Housing Projects of North St. Louis, I am ALWAYS armed with one type of a weapon or another, be it a knife, firearm, my cane or whatever. My chldren know and are learning more and more about firearms every day. If anyone wishes to do me harm it’s not that hard to find me. But if they do find me, please don’t let my gentle exterior and the prefix in front of my name fool you into thinking I’m a pushover.
Rev. Mark L. Anderson
The Texas Fellowship Files
May 5, 2008 at 5:31 pm
I post under a nickname that I acquired in my college days, back in the early 70s. I don’t make any serious efforts to hide my real name, though, and while my “About me” page is pretty skimpy (more from laziness than by design), I do include personal information in some of my posts.
My name isn’t that uncommon, though, and haven’t seen myself show up in the first several Google pages under any variant of my name. Among all the others who show up, there’s a fairly prolific cookbook author with the same name (which, I suppose, is another clue as to my identity).
I’ve mentioned my girlfriend and daughter by name, but don’t post pictures of them or give any details. Come to think of it, my daughter’s even harder to find with Google using her real name than I am.
May 5, 2008 at 11:19 pm
I also use a nickname, mostly so people who know me can find me and my current and future employers will have a harder time. I am not so niave to think that the few simple precautions that I take online will stop anyone from finding me, thats why I carry. I just don’t want the hassle of having my boss give me a hard time about what I say on my own time.