Anonymous Online Publication - Fad or Trend? 222
An anonymous reader asks: "Across the web, stories abound regarding censorship and persecution of those who publish content online that may be offensive or conflicting toward certain governments or ideals. It almost seems that you can't attach your name to anything without being heavily scrutinized for the opinions you express. Lately though, I've begun to see several communities that promote an atmosphere of anonymity to protect their users and facilitate open communication on tough subjects. PostSecret is one of the most popular of these sites, allowing a one-way publication medium for visitors to vent their frustrations, similar to Group Hug. However, both of these sites are one-way mediums, and do not provide for anonymous interaction of users. Is anonymous blogging and publication a brief fad, or a serious, growing trend?"
"One rare example I've found that allows a truly open anonymous mode of communication (dissimilar to Slashdot's own automatic demotion of 'Anonymous Cowards'), is the Teen Angst Central, or Tangst. Operated by a group of high schoolers and hosted by Google's Blogger service, its editors publish posts made anonymously by visitors, with comments and discussion made to the site sprouting from a community bonded by anonymity. I think this concept can easily be applied to other aspects of online society, though I have yet to see many examples beyond the simple angst-driven outpouring of feelings."
Pseudonymous (Score:4, Insightful)
In the past I've been spanked over "controversial" things I've published online, so I use a pseudonym for that sort of thing.
Erm ok? (Score:3, Insightful)
Yes you can submit it as 'anonymous' but oops, cant do anything about server logs.
Re:Erm ok? (Score:4, Insightful)
anonymity (Score:2, Insightful)
Anyway, that's how I feel.
If you think you are right then say so. And if someone disagrees then you can find out why.
John Fenley
Federalist Papers? (Score:4, Insightful)
And loser pays for court costs (which is the way it is here in Canada) to level the playing field by reducing extortive suit filing.
There's lots of ways to go about finding subscribers to your views but I believe most of them aren't needed yet in the United States. Places like Saudi Arabia and Iran should be the backdrop to serious discussion of why anonymity matters.
Blogging Anonymously (Score:5, Insightful)
Having blogged for several years, I've come to wish I'd started out and remained anonymous. While I might be willing to expose my own mistakes and foibles, the things I say can unintentionally hurt those I love. As someone who is active in my church, there are certain topics I dare not go near, and other topics I wonder if I'm just asking for trouble. The "Deb Series [unspace.net]," while possibly some of my best writing, also caused problems.
I've watched bloggers get serious grief from families, co-workers and other communities they belong to because of what they write. The lessons are painful to watch.
In my own case, in the real world, I've trashed my career multiple times for things like accademic integrity and standing up for a co-worker who's being sexually harassed. I've lost friends for saying the truth, and God help me, it's made me a bit of a coward. I've been burned; I don't like it. I'm willing to be burned again, but it's going to have to be a serious fight. On some issues, I've backed down.
I hate that, but if I don't protect myself, I won't do anyone any good.
There's a book out right now, "Orbit [amazon.com] by John J. Nance that speaks of a man alone on a doomed and communicationless 3 hour orbital tour. The man is free to write the truth because he believes he is going to die and the laptop will not be recovered for decades. He doesn't have to worry about what people will think. He also doesn't know there's a one-way connection to Earth, and billions of people are reading his every word.
I wish I could blog like that. I'm not sure why I haven't just scrapped my current blog and started anew, except that I doubt it would stay anonymous very long.
Anonymity provides a freedom that is both precious and necessary for freedom to flourish. Perhaps anonymity will be crushed beneath an over-reaching government. The loss may not be apparent initially, but in the long term, it will be devastating.
Freedom of speech often needs the freedom to be anonymous.
Re:anonymity (Score:5, Insightful)
Even if it will cost you your job? your freedom? or your life?
Dont' Get It (Score:4, Insightful)
Why shame yourself in public? It's not like attaching your name to your insipid and boring personal "I had eggs for breakfast" blog is going to bring you fame and fortune. Go anonymous and have some fun. Stop doing everything to get attention.
A distinction needs to be made (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:anonymity (Score:1, Insightful)
Is it? No-fly list. Surveilance target. Phone tap. Enemy of the state. Enemy of The Party. Fertilizer. Jingoism. Terrorist/Communist/Anarchist/Whoever sympathizer. Disfranchisement. Selective enforcement. Arbitrarily chosen discrimination criteria such as race, sex, sexual preference, hair or eye color, religion, etc.
I am not posing a slippery-slope here; some of these things are here now, some were here in the past, some are unlikely ever to arrive in the USA. The point is that they are all bad things to be affected by or labeled, and thus represent very real, even tangible reasons to Speak anonymously. Why do you think we vote privately in this country? It prevents newspaper headlines to the tune of "All xxx,yyy,zzz,658 voters reaffirmed their support for The Glorious President and his defiance of the foreign dogs who attack us!" It prevents people from disappearing and feeding The People's Crops.
Anonymity is not only a reasonable expectation of citizens, but a necessary defence against discrimination, persecution, and the deprivation of life and/or limb and/or property and obviously happiness (or at least peace of mind!). Every last thing listed here has happened in living memory, and every last evil listed has posed a threat which would have been or was in fact mitigated by anonymous opponents.
Nobody should have to fear from attaching their name to their speech or actions, but if there's some oblivious force to trample them or a malicious force to menace them, they need a defence. Anonymity is a good one, and the last bastion of truly free speech when every other option is blocked by a flag or a jingoist.
Re:Anonymous speech thriving (Score:2, Insightful)
However, the agencies that supposedly protect children are largely unaccountable and get away with almost anything - and what better way to silence others who may be parents, than to take away a child? These agencies are not held as strictly to Constitutional tests.
If you think government agents in the U.S. would not stoop to this, you are truly naive.
Waco. Ruby Ridge. Wounded Knee. Internment Camps. Jim Crow. And the U.S. has violated virtually every treaty it made with Native Americans.
Do you really think people are so much more virtuous today?
Um, I don't know about you... (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:anonymity (Score:1, Insightful)
If saying something will cost you your freedom then you didn't have any freedom to begin with.
Re:anonymity (Score:4, Insightful)
So you don't have anything to say that could cost you your employment, freedom, or life ...
... and/or if you do, you haven't actually tried saying such ...
Uh-huh. They sure will. Especially if the entity prosecuting or suing you has sufficient legal/political clout or just plain old cash. Of course, you should realize that it might be cheaper or more politically expedient for them to just kill you or imprison you - of course, by the above, you probably believe that sort of thing doesn't happen in the good ole U.S. of A, right? I suggest you test that theory at your first opportunity - that way you can claim credit for what you've said with greater credibility, eh?
Okay, I will not only take your word for it, I will [continue to] defend your right to do just that, if that's your choice - just as I will continue to defend my own right to Speech - including my Right to use names other than the one on my Social Security card. IANAL, but it is my understanding that use of an "alias" is not [yet] illegal in most states in the US. I would like to think that you (having made the claim of being a supporter of the Right to Speech) for your own part you would defend the Rights of others to their own choice not to put their "real names" on things they have to say. Not all of us are particularly interested in laying claim to the information we propagate, or counting coup by saying "I told you so", y'know? If you think that makes what we say "not worth saying", I strongly encourage you to not listen...
I realize that you stopped short of saying that anonymous speech should be prohibitted under the Law, but you should realize that such is the underlying issue here. There have been, and no doubt will continue to be, efforts to make anonymous speech - particularly anonymous speech via the Internet - illegal in the US. I think that would be a shame, but there are many who do not agree.
Finally, I commend to you the Revolutionary War period writings published under the nom de plume "E Publius" - perhaps you could have convinced the newspapermen of that era that anonymity for the likes of Patrick Henry was un-necesary and in fact rendered the words "not worth saying", but for my part, I'm gratified to follow in the footsteps of such writers - some of whose names we still don't know - and have no particular problem accepting the ideas presented without tying them to some name registered in the county birth records of the era.
"You have the Right / to Free Speech / ... unless you are actually stupid enough to actually try it" —The Clash, Know Your Rights
Re:Dont' Get It (Score:3, Insightful)
At which point I'll wonder: "Who was this person, who recommended that everybody hide their identity, in order to fool employers? Is this somebody that I really want to hire?"
Re:Anonymous speech thriving (Score:1, Insightful)
Isn't interesting how some people think just by naming us Paedophiles we should have no voices whatsoever? There is none so blind nor deaf as those who will not listen or look because they need no distractions from what they've already decided the truth to be! One of the biggest benefits of anonymity is the ability to speak what one has to say without worrying that someone will attempt to silence you permanently...
Too bad the Rind report [wikipedia.org] could have been released anonymously, perhaps if it had been the Congress who did not actually READ the report would have wasted their time searching for the author's idenities rather than censuring the report for discovering politically unpalatable truths? Perhaps while the hunt was on in search of anonymous scientists, people would have actually decided to read and test the science of the work submitted instead of condemning the study for not having already predetermined its outcome? Maybe we'd be discussing ways to help each other and children instead of simply feuling the Paedophile hysteria?
Nah...that'd be too easy! Why waste your time attempting to combat the 78.5% of all child sex abusers [hhs.gov] when we can instead target only the 3.9% stranger danger cases [hhs.gov]? In fact, despite knowing since-- like forever --the real abuse is almost predominately coming from dear old Dad and Mummy, let's focus entirely on people who look at pictures over the internet. Or those who like to read sexy stories.... after all "the potential that the written word may encourage someone to act out what they've read" [news.com.au] is there! Or we could perhaps focus our attentions on those sick sick people who like to make pseudo-photographs, and put them away for up to 15 years [nashuatelegraph.com] for what ammounts to a thoughtcrime?!? Or how about those who'd like to push for a constitutional amendment taking away the fundamental right of being able to confront one's accusers [kansas.com]?
Nope, I don't see any reason why people like us would want to be anonymous. Even those who break no laws but have 'come out of the toy box' as being Paederotic in orientation face all kinds of death threats by people who assume the worst sight unseen! What's worse is they feel no need to do even the most basic of research either, because they already know they're right....
--I*LoveGreen*Olives
PS: I too am a Paedosexual. This should come as no surprise to anyone who clicks on my webpage link to read my blog. Being Paedosexual does not in any way negate any of what I've said above. Nor should anyone see my sexual orientation as being an excuse to attack, defame or otherwise limit my right to exist as a human being-- the laws they create to 'deal' with me and other Paedophiles are the same laws they'll use on you later....