Yesterday I wrote a post over on The Inquisitr where I was kinda … maybe … a little harsh with my thoughts about anonymity on the web. I was quite rightly hauled over the coals to a degree by a couple of the commenters who made some valid points about people wanting to use nicknames rather than their real names.
So I figured that maybe a little clarification and some eating of humble pie might be in order. First off I do think that anonymity does increase the potential for people to behave like complete idiots. I have seen it happen too many times during my time online to think otherwise. There is an old drinking adage – just mix alcohol and get instant idiot – and I think that applies equally well to on-line life. Give someone a nickname and a keyboard and they think they are God’s gift to smart mouth attitudes.
Does this mean that all people using nicknames should be painted with the same brush?
No it doesn’t and I was probably just as much an ass for trying to paint the situation that way. As SeekGround said in a comment on the post
I respectfully disagree with the conclusions that you have drawn Steven. It is too easy to lump everyone that is trying for anonymity into one category, isn’t it? We are faceless; therefore, we have no feelings, have no online reputation to be smeared, and perhaps are feared because of the very unknown nature of our real life identities.
Yes SG it is just as easy to lump everyone with a nickname into the same paint bucket and of all people I should know better. Nicknames can become the fulltime identity of a persons online life and in most cases that identity can cultivate just as much respect as the owner of that nick does in real life. some of what I wrote was insulting to a degree to those good people and for that I apologize.
I think what happened was that lately I had seen one too many slime buckets hiding behind some nick insulting and hurting good intelligent people because of what they wrote. For me that is just height of cowardice and is unforgivable. Then I read Alan’s post and that just seem to jump start what I was feeling – so I apologize to Alan as well for hijacking the intent of his great post into territory it wasn’t meant to go.
And thank you Mark for disagreeing with me because that made me sit back and reconsider what I had written – that is what friends are for and I appreciate it. You see even cranky old fart’s can admit when they are wrong and then try to correct where they have gone wrong.
Can you?
We all get those days where things seem to keep piling up and piling up ? in other words a full plate day. Well today is one of those days for me and I haven?t even reached the botom of my first pot of coffee. Mind you this all started late last night with the release of the new version of Windows Live Writer ? my favorite blogging tool.
