On Thu, 24 Feb 2005 20:25:55 -0500 Glenn Maynard wrote: > On Fri, Feb 25, 2005 at 01:39:16AM +0100, Francesco Poli wrote: > > > It is the convention in most mailing-lists, newsgroups, etc. > > > connected to Free software that you identify yourself by your > > > name, not some pseudonym or 'handle'. > > > > I don't agree. > > It's the convention on all technical mailing lists I'm on and have > been on in the last several years. Debian lists, sdl, usb-devel, > alsa-devel, linux-utf8, lftp-devel, lua-l, etc--it's very uncommon for > someone to post on any of these with an obvious pseudonym.
Then we happen to have been on different mailing lists... ;-)
[...]
> > I personally have nothing against people willing to hide their real
> > identity (we care about dissidents when reviewing licenses: why
> > shouldn't we care about them when ruling mailing list policies?).
>
> If somebody has a legitimate reason to want to hide his identity (most
> people really don't),
But you have to learn and practice the techniques to hide your identity
*before* you really need them (otherwise it will be too late to learn,
when, say, using an anonymous remailer network becomes a necessity).
> then that's fine with me, though I'd hope he'd
> choose a reasonable pseudonym that I can use to mentally identify the
> person. I think the most common reason some people use nicks, though,
> is because it *is* the convention in other places (eg. web forums,
> IRC), not due to any particular desire to not identify oneself.
Of course, as I said, you don't really hide your identity by simply
using a nick.
If you want to stay anonymous, use anonymous remailers and nym servers!
But anyway, what surprised me was the claimed connection between
respectability and will to declare one's own real identity.
I just thought: if they say "tell us your real name, or we won't take
you seriously" to someone using a simple nick, what will happen if a
real anonymous message arrives?
>
> On a technical list, you're simply not going to be taken very
> seriously by a lot of people with a goofy nickname--can *you* read a
> technical post by Elvis Presley with a straight face? :)
Well, I can try... ;-)
As a general rule, I judge messages by looking mainly at their bodies,
not at what the sender chose to put in the From: field...
Note that many anonymous remailers use a funny name for their own
fictitious user...
[...]
> A convention is not a "rule".
As I said in another reply, I misunderstood the intended meaning of the
word "convention": I'm sorry.
--
Today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday.
......................................................................
Francesco Poli GnuPG Key ID = DD6DFCF4
Key fingerprint = C979 F34B 27CE 5CD8 DC12 31B5 78F4 279B DD6D FCF4
pgpPO2fbJRxlM.pgp
Description: PGP signature
