ownership

[Skunks]

I'm not big into new years resolutions. The idea is great, but the timing sucks. It's hard for me to get any sense of where I am or where I'm going when the skies are grey all the time and the days are short, nevermind the discontinuity of winter vacation, holiday season, etc. I think midyear resolutions work better, or more of a "state of the self" address. Deep into summer vacation, lots of time to reflect, long days, good sunsets.

About seven years ago Nic Name posted some hot pixx of a woman in body paint. I've been watching IOTD ever since. A few years ago, I stopped using aliases online. My cellar account predated that, and I've been slow to change since I post here so rarely.

I think, on the whole, having online aliases fostered a strong public/private split for me, in terms of thoughts and actions. It used to be that I'd avoid face conversations about technology and the internet just because it was so much work to explain things to people. That spread to encompass most things I involved myself in online, just for the sake of keeping up a base level of apparent 'normalcy.'

I'm starting to think that's all bullshit. Normal comes and normal goes, and the more you try to be something other than what you are, or to be interested in things for the sake of appearance, the more fucked you get in the head.

So, ownership. Own what I write, own who I am. I'm not posting this for converts, just trying to consolidate some personalities.

previously Skunks, presently George.

[capnhowdy]

OK

[regular.joe]

I really am just a regular joe. Nice to meet ya George.

[ZenGum]

Greetings George. Congratulations on these changes you are making. I think they are serious and important. Really. This is about personal acceptance and integrity.
Note that this is coming from some guy who has never put his real name, or even a photo, on the cellar. "Zengum" is essentially a sock puppet. I guess I am tracable, having hit the tip mug occasionally (which reminds me...), but only by moderators or other tech-savvy types. I find your post interesting because I have been considering making a similar move myself. However, I remain paranoid about putting anything abut myself on the net. I don't even do facebook.



BTW, I think it is possible for you to have your username changed to George, and still keep your join date of 2002 and your post count; all your existing posts as Skunks would have the author name changed. Drax/Datalyss/Thanatos did this. If it matters to you, ask a moderator.

[monster]

Hey George..... George tells me no more about you than Skunks did, but if you're happy I'm good.

I keep my pseudo-anonymity because there are some fucking whack-jobs out there who you don't need to piss off for them to latch on to you. but mebbe i post more stuff that might attact them than you do. WTG on being you, though. Thor's second middle name in George. Jusy in case he decides he hates Thor and Artemus

[Aliantha]

Originally Posted by ZenGum

I find your post interesting because I have been considering making a similar move myself. However, I remain paranoid about putting anything abut myself on the net. I don't even do facebook.

DO IT!!!

[Aliantha]

Originally Posted by monster

Hey George..... George tells me no more about you than Skunks did, but if you're happy I'm good.

I keep my pseudo-anonymity because there are some fucking whack-jobs out there who you don't need to piss off for them to latch on to you. but mebbe i post more stuff that might attact them than you do. WTG on being you, though. Thor's second middle name in George. Jusy in case he decides he hates Thor and Artemus

I reckon if anyone really wanted to find you they could monster. You've put a shitload of personal info on here if you wanted to add it all up.

Same goes for me of course. I'm not too concerned about anonymity though. eta: except we could be in trouble if Dazza does eventually go into politics.

[xoxoxoBruce]

Oh crap, I though George was a spammer and banned him.


Just kidding, George works ok for me. again.

[gvidas]

ha. I thought about the date thing. It's kind of irrelevant.

It makes me anxious sometimes when people google me. Weird shit comes up, like posts to mailing lists from five years ago. But so much other stuff is on public or near-public record (carfax?) that the only real question anymore is whether or not you're willing to put $50 into stalking someone.

Back when TechTV was cool (2004? 2003?) they had this half hour show every once in a while where some crazy intellectual would ramble for 30 minutes or an hour about whatever their pet theory was. One guy went on about how our notion of privacy is going to change. Maybe I'm paraphrasing, and maybe I'm combining some other ideas too, but it was basically said that privacy will no longer be about not being seen. That's pretty much out the window, with how many cameras we have everywhere. But, instead, privacy will be the right to be left alone. Glass houses, but soundproof.

As for the nuts, well. Emails and phone numbers can be blocked. There are whackos, and there are solutions. I think what would be most frustrating (what has been most frustrating) is the overlap of social groups, honestly; when online friends track me down on facebook, or something, and then my neighbor is all, "who's this weirdo from Florida?" Which comes back to ownership again.

[monster]

I'm sure they could Ali. In fact I know they could. but there's no reason to make it easier for them :p
I don't facebook or twitter or myspace or any of those, either. Just friends reunited, before I knew better -and that brought a few whackjobs out of the closet -take diminished for example (jk dude )

[richlevy]

I decided to stop using an alias on Cellar a while ago. So far I have not been scammed, deported, interrogated, or otherwise inconvenienced.

I do not post from work, but otherwise don't place any restrictions on my online speech other than common sense and (usually) civility. I can still be snarky and occasionally testy, but I approach my online speech with the same stupidity as I do my offline speech,

I do not post from work, and do not discuss my employer.

The current flap about the Twitter defamation suit shows that aliases do not provide full protection.

San Francisco - Before this week, few knew anything about Amanda Bonnen and her alleged mold problem, or much of anything about Horizon Group Management and their apartments. Now, a local complaint made via a tweet has turned into a national issue – with lessons for both Twitterers and companies targeted by tweets.

Here's what Bonnen wrote on the microblogging site: "Who said sleeping in a moldy apartment was bad for you? Horizon realty thinks it's okay."

If it had been me, I would have stuck with the facts.

[TheMercenary]

IMHO using your real name is dangerous and may come back to haunt you in real life. People who know me in real life will tell you that I am no different on line than I am off. But there are enough Wacko Extremists out there that could screw with you if you made it easy for them. I have seen cases where people use on-line info in identity theft, to stalk other people (in real life and on-line) by assuming someone elses real name, open bank accounts and get credit cards, use the info from an on-line real name to have people fired from jobs because they did not like what they were posting. And if you have a professional job, they can use the info as leverage against you at work, whether you post from work or not. There is much more at stake than you think.

Facebook and MySpace has made the news on that level many times. I am sure we can all site examples.

[richlevy]

Originally Posted by TheMercenary

But there are enough Wacko Extremists out there that could screw with you if you made it easy for them. I have seen cases where people use on-line info in identity theft, to stalk other people (in real life and on-line) by assuming someone elses real name, open bank accounts and get credit cards, use the info from an on-line real name to have people fired from jobs because they did not like what they were posting. And if you have a professional job, they can use the info as leverage against you at work, whether you post from work or not. There is much more at stake than you think.

Facebook and MySpace has made the news on that level many times. I am sure we can all site examples.

We could all cite examples in the news. I do know of one person on the Cellar who did get in trouble with their work. It's always possible someone will find out where I work and contact my company about something I've posted. So be it. I have never identified myself with my company here and I've kept a clear division between work and home. If someone were to attempt to fabricate something, they can do that now anyway.

Freedom = Risk. It's always been that way.

[xoxoxoBruce]

I'm not worried about my employer or thieves, I worry about nymphomaniacs tracking me down and raping me.

[TheMercenary]