Date: Mon, 4 Jan 1999 12:26:48 -0800 (PST)
From: "Roger B.A. Klorese" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> Christine Code <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes:
> > Along comes a subscriber who uses a one-word alias instead of his
> > name, confidentially mentioning that this is because he's so
> > important in his extremely serious profession that his life would
> > be at risk if he used his real name on the Net.
And yet, and yet...
I have had closeted several government employees, elected officials, and
clergy on lists run here; I respect their wishes, and others', for this
level of anonymity, as long as their identities, reasons for anonymity,
and good intentions are known to ME.
Good point, though somewhat of a different subject. I think Christine was
speaking about people who make a point of telling everyone on the list (or
at least the listowner) how great and important they are. Ego fix, etc.
There certainly are legit reasons for anonymity.
I encourage people on my lists to post from free-email accounts or
otherwise hide their full identity if they choose. I only care about
someone's real identity in the case of severe harressment, threats, etc
(very rare but it has happened).
Some of my subscribers are involved in lawsuits against their employers or
various companies or agencies. Some are trying to get workers comp cases
settled or disability insurance payouts. They need to be able to be
anonymous, and I allow it. The flip side is that some of my subscribers
are company "spies" (one known case of this--a manager on the list to see
what several employees who had been poisoned at work were saying about
their health and workplace) and certainly others are from government
agencies, companies, etc.
It's fairly easy to tell the difference between true and fake reasons for
anonymity though... The true cases merely post without giving their full
(or real) name. Sometimes they'll mention it in the course of a post
(often to apoligize for not giving the name of their employer, for example)
but they don't dwell on it. The fake cases brag about being anon and make
a huge deal about how impressed you would be if you only knew who they
were.
Cyndi
--
_______________________________________________________________________________
"There's nothing wrong with me. Maybe there's Cyndi Norman
something wrong with the universe." (ST:TNG) [EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://www.consultclarity.com/
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