What about people who hide behind anonymity when they write comments in the internet?
In my opinion this is the dark side when you are empowered by the fact that you don’t have to be liable for your opinions.
I’m saying this because I met Jeff Jarvis from buzzmachine.com and Michael Arrington from TechCrunch.com and they told me that they are insulted every single day – and in the case of Arrington someone even spat on his face.
If we stood by our opinions, I think we should put our name next to it. However, if you go to any newspaper site and click on comments, you see that most people use nicknames in order to insult what people do.
So, I would like to hear your opinion on anonymity in the internet.
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I think people say things anonymously because they do not want a retaliation. They want to be able to say what they want and how they feel without anyone judging them for their ideals and thoughts. It’s really a sad thing actually because of all the judging and animosity in this world, it’s hard for someone to express how they feel without others judging or getting them down.
I believe we should all take things with an open mind and if you do not agree with someone then let them know, but there’s no need to argue. Just see everyone for who they are and give everyone an equal chance.
well i would say that it is a choice
in my case i ovbiously write my whole name and last name because i want people to know who it is that is commenting
no matter how absurd my words may sound to others they are still mine
and i take pride of them
but i also understand people who use anonymity i’ve done it.
not out of cowardice but because i believe some may feel more confident of their thoughts.
..My name is..These words mean-I am open:for better or worser-I don’t know and don’t care.These words mean,that I am responsible for every sound’s been pronounced.These words mean:I will think,before I will speak.These words mean,that I do trust you,before even getting to know you better.Why?Because,the first question I am going to ask you-will be:What is your name?..
Reason I don’t publish my whole name is securing my privacy.
I certainly do not have a good opinion about it. I receive anonymous comments on my blog, and most of them are not well-intended. It hurts me to know that there are people that either envy or despise me for one reason or another. It is actually too bad that most people use this anonymity method to express their own opinions. I guess by using this way, they can’t be blamed for what they think.
I somehow think some of them are actually endowed with a certain ability to make others feel bad, and this could actually be an action that causes the anonymous commentators great pleasure. A normal man wouldn’t understand this, but it must happen.
Moreover, using an anonymous identity protects one from any legal action.
Dear Thelma,
You said it all in very good way !
I honour my real name ( by the way that was name of my grandmother too ) and I use it in internet too.
I know that pseudonims are masks and to me they show some kind of inmaturity, insecurity and cowardice.
Luce is my real name and the photos I put in Virtual exhibition on Paulo’s covers blog is my real face, I even has tag with my name on it.
Luce stay short for Lucia ( or Lucija in Croatian ) and means Light, and you are again right “nomen est omen” as Latin proverb says.
I do not like hiding behind pseudonim, for me it is like cheating and hurting, stabbing in the back.
It is NOT freedom in fact it is evidence that freedom is missing.
Love
Luce
Ismael ese es mi nombre y me hago responsable de cada que escribo en todas partes.El que no es capas de hacerse responsable de lo que escribe es que en el fondo no acepta lo que es por dentro, no se acepta a si mismo , se tiene miedo a si mismo , es un cobarde, tiene miedo de las consecuencias de lo que escriba. Esa es mi opinion. En cuanto a cuestion de seguridad. Bueno esa es otra cosa, si te metes en un sitio de internet donde pueda que te escriba algun acosador o depredador, o alguna persona con malas intenciones, puedes que uses algun seudonimo por proteccion; pero aun asi si te preguntas a ti mismo que haces escribiendo en un sitio de esa clase , por soledad, por la emocion de correr un riesgo, de estar al filo de la navaja. Es porque en el fondo tienes que descubrir te a ti misma, que hay alla dentro de ti, que clase de oscuridad habita o que clase de luz. Todos tenemos una luz y una oscuridad en nuestro interior, los que no aceptan su oscuridad utilizan mascaras engañandose a si mismos para dejarla salir al mundo , para mostrarsela a los demas. Si no aceptas la oscuridad que hay en ti mucho menos descubriras la luz que hay en ti.
Atte.:
Ismael Morán Casaya
Saludos!…
Paulo
P.S. some of the greatest changed their names so they sound better rolling off the tongue.. I will not name them here!
Hay everyone this is my name and I am proud to use it!! I must confess that my online name is Thewolffather and I run the Paulo Coelho fanfiction website, a non profit venture, which I am launching on the 19th of March 2009. I have been using this alias as I did not want anybody to think I was looking for fame of some sort, or trying to say I am associated with Paulo Coelho so you should recognise me!! (Although I must admit I would love to work for the man!). I hope people enjoy the blog, and as we are non profit the blog/website may be not so nice to look at but it is an interesting read and you can comment too if you wish. As I say, I may not be good at making movies or webpages but I can write a mean story or article! Check out my new entry The Fifth Mountain.
Kealan
Liina L. Thank you! You really inspired me to do the audition but… I can not find it on the website anymore…
never mind here it is on youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kng1MK-HLLA
Well, well, well, what a better way to bring something out into the open with confronting it Paulo!
I think people use anonymity for a number of reasons:
They may not stand 100% behind what they are saying, fear of loosing something (it could be a job, social status)….fear of being challenged, fear of being exposed of their true being. Or it could be ignorance.
Anonymous= without name in Greek= ανώνυμος
Pseudonym = false name in Greek = ψευδώνυμον
All …difficult words are Greek!
A name, our name carries vibrations. Names are important. It is logos, the way others call us. They are numbers. It is our presence in the material world. Every name has its meaning. Until lately I did not know what my name meant! When we are ill or unconscious they call our name to … bring us back. If we walk in a street and hear our name, immediately we will turn.
I think that we must honour ourselves and our name. Dignity and self respect in all our actions. I would not ever thinking of hiding who I am. I feel that whatever we do or say must conform with our personality and inner self. I also believe in ‘good manners’ and respect to other people. To be transparent. I have also read somewhere that if you want to humiliate someone you call him nicknames and indeed this is how I feel about it.
LOVE,
Thelma
I woke up about 45 min. ago and took a shower, in the shower this is the Exact same thing I was thinking about!!! :)
Then after I got out of the shower, I turned my computer on and after checking my emails, I saw this blog! :)
I cannot comment right now because I have some work to do, but I will be back :)
with love to everyone everywhere!
xxoo
I totally agree! It is more likely that people would take a person with a real name more seriously than someone who´s afraid to let the world know who they are.
I guess I would pay more attention and listen more carefully to someone who put their real name next to their opinions, believes, ideology and actions. Much like I probably would try to ignore a person who´s too much of a coward to risk the bad consequences of revealing their true identity.
Insulting persons hardly ever dear to take that risk, I guess because their intention never were good. Actions of darkness are done in dark and are never meant to be spotlighted.
With Love from
Gro Hilde Strømdal (Norway)
Well I think it’s a double edged sword Paulo:
On the one hand people are not liable for what they say and this is infuriating to certain blogs/bloggers.
HOWEVER,
there are certain say political opinions that may cause people to be threatened or physically harmed. In this case the fact that the person’s identity is withheld is more than valid, in my opinion.
This is why this is a difficult situation because not everyone is equally ‘free’ to express their views- Some are even killed for them.
My 2 cents.
-Signed-
Christian Usera
Is Mark right?
Wow. I feel a sense of shame. Where’s the integrity and the character when one does this? Thanks Mr. Coelho. You’re a true teacher.
Dear bloggers,
It is always good to read about different perspectives and ideas, and I agree a lot with Savita and with Austere. Some years ago I got anonymous phone calls in the middle of the night – quite frightening if you live alone. Some one who knew my phone number, maybe from the white guide, liked to do that. I went to the telcom operator and provided them with the dates and time this had happened. They traced that person and warned him or her. I never got to know though who it was- for privacy reasons… It stopped though. I felt like some one committed agression on me and I considered it to be a crime. It really frightened me, and it definitely had an impact on my behaviour.
Going deeper into the why some people need to intentionally damage others, without an obvious reason – after all they are not being physically threathened by the other. Somehow I consider these people to be mentally ill- distorted, and I wonder whether they are sensitive to what they cause. If they were part of a community and known in their behaviour, and pointed by that community to what they do and the effects of it on other people, and that this is not acceptable, I wonder whether this would continue. Anonimity is what allows it to happen in my opinion. When damaging some one intentionally this way, I believe it should be taken off the internet, before even appearing.
As the Bible says: in the beginning was the word… The Word is very powerful. It brings an interntion in the world, a form of energy that spreads as a ripple on the water. And through the medium of internet, it can spread very far.
with the word of Love,
thanks Paulo,
Rita
Good Morning Paulo,
You bring up another interesting point. Anonyminity definetly has its advantages. For example, I cringe everytime I google myself because often what is highlighted is misleading or easily taken out of context. However, most people realize that is the case. There is even an Online Dating entry with my name, an awful picture of me, and a statement saying “she is currently married,” as if they are to be congratulated for it; I have never visited any online dating service. I’ve been married for 21 years. So that is disturbing. I have repeatedly tried and failed to have it removed. Still, I choose to use my full name because I think that it is more honest. I do have to take care not to write anything that I’d really rather not be available for anyone to see, but still sometimes I forget. Ooops!
I think that eople use nick names for a variety of reasons, but mainly privacy related issues. Others may lack the confidence it takes to do otherwise, while still others are probably just following the trend. I don’t see anything wrong with using nick names or given names only unless it is for ill use.
One particularly irritating instance of hiding behind made-up personas happened during our recent Presidential Campaign in the states; I can’t tell you how many negative – sometimes disgusting – comments were made by people with no names. If people want to have their voices heard on important issues they ought to use their names, otherwise its just a cowardly act and without merit to serious-minded people.
So while I think that nick names are fine, I’d really like to see more people use their real names for more reasons that I care to share right now. But, I can tell you that when I recieve requests from anonymous users on MySpace (some without even pictures of themselves) asking me to accept their friendship, my first thought is “you have got to be kidding” and my second thought is “hit the reject request button. :D
Have a great day, dear Paulo.
Guess who ;)
I am very proud to put my name on my blog and am willing to be held accountable for my opinions. If someone is scared of abuse, then the internet may not be the place to publish your views. It is easy to hide behind a faceless facade … a sign of cowardice, perhaps? Or of hiding evil motives? T
o quote from the Bible (Ecclesiastes 7:1) … a good name is worth more than precious oil. One’s name is something to be proud of, and one should be willing to label all your actions with your name.
I think people growing up with the internet have a much better emotional filter for what they read.
I have the same nic every blogg I have. The same e-mail adress, the only reason I dont put my whole name is that there is people whoo will use information on you, maby come to your dor, ore send mail you dont want. But all theese anonym remarks om bloggs, is very often not good people. They can say ugly things and not have to stand for it , since noone knows who they are.I do not think having a nic and beeing anonym is the same thing!!!!Toril Marie
People that are the hardest to love, are usually who need it the most.
Bom, eu acho que é muito fácil e confortável para as pessoas que estão do lado de cá, desconhecidas, criarem uma identidade falsa para fazerem o que quiserem. Geralmente elas insultam não por algum motivo mais profudo, mas simplesmente por insultar, ou então por inveja.
Acho que deveria ter algum mecanismo para proteger as pessoas públicas nesse sentido, pois realmente é complicado…
Renata vai bem, se recuperou e os médicos disseram que foi como se simplesmente nada tivesse acontecido.
Abraços grandes!
Pisces:trolls or…goblins.
I know it’s hard to deal with but I don’t want to give up and that message of today is to remind me so.Proud and even if some will come and spit at me or whatever,don’t care.But i like “Pisces iscariot” too,nice album with the best poems!
I use my nom de guerre because I don’t want people randomly showing up on my doorstep. I find it very interesting that you and other men are big into this “strip the facade away so I’ll be protected” routine … but in fact … while stating that this will cure the internet’s woes … you site a face to face encounter … now … how is it that you knowing who I am on the web will keep me from walking up and spitting in your face?
Angry? I sound Angry? Do you have a clue how women are threatened on the web? And yet you want me to walk thru the web without any shield whatsoever.
Get over it already. Do what it takes to build your Internet community of friends as carefully as you build your “real life” community of friends. Filter the comments. Don’t post comments that make the commenter look like a fool. It takes practice and expertise … the use of (robotic filters aka artificial intelligence) and the use of a Human Brain must go hand in hand.
Is it worth it? Yes. I’ve been on the Internet for over ten years. I have friends that go back ten years. Some I’ve gotten to meet face to face. Pure joy.
You would not post a sign oh your house “Bring your paint and do whatever you please.” Nor would you place a sign in your yard that says “All random campers welcome.” Sooo don’t do it with your blog, your facebook, your plurk, your twit, your web site … oh yeah and not your myspace either.
enjoy have fun
Mari
Does it really matter what name we carry?
Will it change something?
The real problem is the pretending that you are someone else, which is a thing we have to deal with every day and talking about internet is like talking about one of milions of villages in the world. There are too many ways how people hide behind an imaginary fella they want to be or they need in order to achieve what they long for.
Yes, even i used to hide myself, acting that i am more powerful than i really was. Even i chatted on internet in order to have fun pretending i was someone else. But i have learnt that what really matters to me is to have people around me who really care for me the way i am.
Maybe i sound naive, maybe i am just one of those humble believers that in the cruel world we created there is a chance to be who you are. But if we want to be anonymous, its just a bad dream.
From my own experience i know: who wants to find you, will find you, if you allow someone to hurt you, he will and if you try to be someone else, you lose yourself and everyone who might care.
so anonymity? nothing for me…maybe just to save my pc from crashing down or see my pictures downloaded and misused by a bored teenager. because even thats a face of the world we live in.
If being in Africa (Ghana) has taught me one thing, it’s that no matter what face or mask you wish to present to the world that day – your community has seen you coming a mile off.
By this I mean, that people are extraordinarily perceptive (which took being extracted out of my own culture and dropped in another culture so completely different to discover this)…
maybe it is the vast landscapes, the long ancestry.. I’m not sure… but in part I like this social gregariousness – but at other times I long for the anonymity I shall belong to when in Europe and back home. It’s not that I am not unsociable. But perhaps something of me enjoys the mystery of suprise and working life out for myself, rather than someone else having that part to play in my life…
strangely now, since being in Ghana for 9 months – I can predict other things in life around me a bit better.
Anonymity on the internet can sometimes be a starting point for those who have been constricted or held back, to freely express themselves…. sometimes more responsibly than otherwise (maybe?!).
I think when a person reaches out to communicate, it is the idea and the emotions that are conveyed – and this is perhaps that which is also picked up alone: not the name of the person, their class or sex or ethnic background…
so the person is still communicating.
As always my favourite quote brings good wisdom to inspire:
what is essential is invisible to the eye; it is only with the heart that one can see rightly.
It is what the person has to say that should be taken notice of… nothing else… and ask is it well intended or not etc.
I have nothing against the anonymous – only that my noseyness would wish to know more about the writer..
sometimes light is revealed in intricate and refracted ways.. there is nothing wrong about that.
sometimes it is the light and the message conveyed via that – rather than the identity of the reader or their context, which is the most important and necessary issue…
When I look at the comments here or in myspace, I notice less people write under their real name. It’s the same with teir fotos – you can see all kinds of illustrations, but good and authentic fotos are very rare (I have one in myspace). I don’t like this at all, I want to know with whom I have dealings. Therefore I prefer only to answer or to add friends, if I guess at least they were authentic. What are people afraid of?
Kasia May: about the audition… I did the audition, and I honestly didn’t think about it, being self-conciousness. Why? Because I didn’t think mine would be put up. Because it was such a general theme to talk about – and something everyone already knows. But it was important to me, so I decided to do it.
After I saw that Paulo (or his team) have put it up, THEN I started to feel that way. I started to think that maybe some people will look at it, and laugh at what I am saying, laugh at my opinion. But in the end, I thought: so what. It is my thoughts, it is me… and usually people who sting You are bitter, or saddened by life, or maybe they just haven’t got the same knowledge or life encounters that we have, so they just don’t understand us. Either way, this in the end doesn’t matter, if someone would critizise me. I did it out of good thought and that’s what mattered to me.
There was this one person from Poland who gave me feedback, that what I talked about, was something he needed to hear – and that made it all worth a while. Because a hidden reason for me doing this audition video for Paulo was that maybe someone will get a positive emotion out of it, maybe someone will get some benefits from it.
And for now me and this person from Poland have sent a few messages back and forth. And I am very glad I came on this blog first place: it’s a joy to know there are so many people around us that think the same things, feel the same feelings, have the similar attitudes, although different dreams and personalities. But that all makes it fun.
Thanks, Paulo, for making this blog, and giving an opportunity for people to connect to You and Your work through it, and also connect amongst ourselves.
PS! Kasia May – if You have rethought about the audition, I’d advise You to still do it. It may give You this sense of freedom, as You spoke about. There is still time to do it, also. :) But this is only up to You! But just so You know, You have my support!
Much love,
L.L.
made a blog entry about nasty comments – http://tinyurl.com/bdxq28 that made used of a name plurkbuddy – when I checked this with plurk they said it is not from them. It is easy to be maligned online but being truthful i only use a single name in mostly all of my internet profile for me that is my way to keep an online integrity that I am not fake and I do exist in most platform – social networks – also it would be too hard for me to keep track of all aliases, hehehe..
It’s a choice…
I use initial of my surname instead of full name. There is a pretty good reason for that – it’s too easy to track a person on the net. I can easily disclose myself to the person I talk to but not for everyone on the net. I prefer to keep at least slightest privacy.
People share their deepest thoughts, dreams and fears in the public place, there must be some protection for them to prevent exploiting of that infromation.
On the other hand I hate tlaking to fanthoms, people pretending to be what they are not and cyber-bullies. A possible compromise is personal data open to blog (or another resource) owner but closed to others.
We can be held accountable for our opinions by arguing for them – whether we do this anonymously or not is besides the point.
What you are talking about here are those who wish to insult or stir up the emotions of other commenters without having these insults responded to outside of the immediate forum.
These anonymous trolls are easily dealt with by having their comments deleted and not responding to their game since they only do it to generate an indignant response.
I operate wholly under a pseudonym which does not mean I am unaccountable, merely that my personal details are not available to any agency/individual to make mischeif with.
Incidentally, how is it physically possible that somebody can be spat upon by an anonymous commentor????
Caro Paulo, io credo che chi non si firma abbia da nascondere qualcosa, quando una persona giudica qualcun’altro, scrive o offende un’altra persona deve assumersi le proprie responsabilità!
Baci
Barbara Massa
I think we go on internet anonymous because we are so obsessed with what other people think about us. We worry that others will criticize us and it will be painful for us. I don’t think that we necessary let our dark side out, I think this is the matter of personal conduct.
When Paulo gave us opportunity to post on his blog video of ourselves talking about something important for us, part of me really wanted to do it but in the end I felt too self-conscious. I know that many times this mind disempowered me from doing things that I really wanted to do and I think letting go of it can be liberating. In the end by hiding we are just deceiving ourselves. Well I will start here: I used to write comments in this blog signing as Mandarawa but my real name is Kasia May.
it’s more complex than that I think. You said yourself that we hide behind a “mask”, really what is the difference if you know who is sending the message?
What are the person’s intentions I think is the most important.and this only the person can answer.
Love always,
I agree with You, Savita Vega, the anonymity gives You a kind of a free space, untouchedness, if You are looking for privacy. It would be another extreme, of course, to present Your thoughts under only Your own name with the address and such, all out in the open – I wouldn’t want that either. But the name with the text You present out in the open, sounds fair in my eyes.
For many people, it wouldn’t be neccecary at all, because they do not try to manipulate with the ‘truth’, to manipulate the people, to hurt or damage anything or anyone, with their comments or words. I wasn’t talking about that kind of people in my last post.
What concernes me are exactly those cowards, as Paulo described, who offend and try to destroy the others and what they do.
Of course there would be a way to just to stay calm and not be affected by it. And many people who are daily insulted like that, actually are not influenced by it. They often say: “Let them say what they want!”… this is brave, but also risky in a way. Because even if You are not influenced, people around You can be, and their opinions will change, because they cannot distinct the truth from a lie. Or they get influenced by the insults, and get poisoned aswell.
~*~*~*~
My humble opinion is – never start to believe in things when You don’t know the whole truth. If You don’t know the whole truth, You will ‘start to build up a wall’… as we spoke about last week. You’ll get to have Your one side opinion. But that is, indeed, just one side.
Before You decide something – learn about all the facts that are there, or that are tried to be hidden.
And for any new people here who don’t know how to pronounce my name – it’s Libh
People to be on Hi5, MySpace, Facebook and Target, have no restrictions to place all your information. I agree with your opinion with regard to those who hide their identity because they are not entirely sure what they are writing, I can say that these people are inconsistent, and does not understand the meaning of what it means to comment through the Internet.
MIT
Yes yes and yes to all.:) Though I completely agree with Savita. I totally forgot about the security aspect. People who abuse other’s rights to privacy and personal space should be punished more severly than those who choose anonymity.
Thanks so much for that.
Finally,Moonlight Drive ect..was an answer of The Doors,your post and I love The Doors,you guessed that,but it always been me and just me,my real tastes and real opinions and my writings.
I’m not ashamed of who I am and even if I did make some mistakes,perfection doesn’t exist.
For 2 days i’ve been using nicknames but to spread love of course,because I was feeling threaten,really so that’s why that post means the world to me,don’t wanna fall into that stupid game that has been going on for ages,if you want my opinion,just wanna be myself and an immense thank you for that Mr Coelho and co.
Love you
xxxx
I use a pseudonym.
I live in a country where college girls were thrashed because they went to a pub.
I use my anonymity with respect. I use the same rules of behavior online as I use in real life.
Ideally, I would expect the same standards of behavior online as in real life, but we do not live in a utopian world.
I definitely see your point, Paulo, and I agree that people misuse the gift anonymity we have here on the internet as an impermeable shield to hide behind while they throw poison darts and shoot flaming arrows at others. Anonymity creates monsters of people who, otherwise, would likely never dare say the hurtful and hateful things they do.
However, that same anonymity serves a great purpose: safety. I say this as a single mother, living alone, with my young daughter in the middle of nowhere. I would not feel safe even writing that last sentence on the internet if I were not writing under a pseudonym. If everyone on this blog could simply pick up my name and do an identity search of call information and find out the exact address where I live, there is much in what I write that I would feel compelled to censor out. For me, the internet wouldn’t be nearly as much fun anymore and would lose a great part of its appeal if I were forced to use my legal name, because I would constantly be concerned for the physical safety of myself and my daughter – afraid that some pedophile or sexual offender, or just some nut, might be drawn to something I say and decide to show up at my front door in the real world.
However, I think there could be a solution, a compromise to be reached between the pitfalls and the benefits of anonymity: a singular internet identity for every individual user. In other words, if Jane Doe wants to sign on as Moon Flower, then that should be her imposed identity on ALL internet sights, public or private. i know nothing of technology, so I have no idea how this could be affected, but the internet needs some sort of virtual “wall” around it as a whole, whereat users are required to log in before they go online, under that one pseudonym, which would then be there username on all sites that they visit. And that “wall” and database should be managed by some official governing body or authority. Then a persons internet pseudonym could be linked to their social security number (in the US) or a similar form of identity so that, in the case of an infraction or a crime committed on the internet, that person could be traced down by the proper authorities. A list of general internet user rights and responsibilities would have to be created and agreed upon and, in the event that these were not heeded, some form of sanctions could then be imposed. In other words, in the event that a person does something like make a threat of violence toward another online, the victim could report that to the proper authorities and sanctions would be imposed upon the offending user. Perhaps, if the offense were great enough, or if infractions were repeated, that person would be barred from using the internet altogether.
I know that many people get nervous and become resistant when we start talking about setting up such a governing body to police the internet and make it a safe place. But why should the internet be different from all the other realms we inhabit and interact in. There is no place on earth we can go (other than the internet) where there is no law, no accountability and no authority to hold us accountable for our actions. And, as I see it, there is no reason to fear such a blanket authority over the internet if one is not intent upon doing wrong.
I wouldn’t mind if my social security number were held in a secure database and linked to my pseudonym, for the sake of the security and safety of all internet users. I also wouldn’t mind having to log on under that pseudonym every time I go online, or having it be my singular name on all sites that I visit. Wherever I went online, I would be “Savita Vega,” and would have no possibility of being anyone else or assuming any other identity. I don’t see a problem with that. It is as this in the real world. We don’t all walk around using a different name everywhere we go, or flashing around fake ID’s here and there. We are forced to use our real names – just one – and thus are held at least somewhat accountable for our actions. It should be no different on the internet.
anonymous=coward. it’s easy to take sides when hiding yourself behind a nickname or worse omitting giving even a nickname. the anonymity is a false friend since it makes the person hiding behind it feel powerful, corageous when in fact it’s just the other way around. you cannot be part of what life offers you when you are afraid or too coward to take your responsibilities of what you say or do.
and life lived in fear is lived on half.
anonymity is also used, i think, by people who are aware of doing something wrong or saying something unjust. that is how they are trying to come at ease with their ‘conscious’.
one should not hide behind anonymity if they want their opinion to be taken into consideration, if they are willing to fight and stand for what they are fighting for. they are as the warriors who went to war neither with a sword nor with a clear idea for whom and what they are fighting for.
A-ha! This is a big problem, that we’re dealing with here! In the whole world, it is a problem, actually. And I can say – in Estonia, it is a huge problem aswell (and it seems even bigger, because our country is so small, and not too much population – just a bit over 1 million).
There are news-sites on the internet and there are articles about life, people, situations, political topics etc, etc. And there it is free to comment anything and without even publishing Your name to it. It’s not regulated, basically… even if the words that are used are very unappropriate, sometimes. And this worries me, really.
You can create a nickname, or a false name (even worse) or just maintain anonymous without having any fear to it. People are even commenting on different political views, and insulting certain figures from certain political parliaments, while getting away with it all, and not having to pay any damage for that.
The saddest part is, sometimes a leading politician, from another parliament, insults the person, while being under cover (the false names etc.). And it has come out in the media a few times aswell. It’s quite sad actually, how people are trying to destroy their competitors with throwing garbage at them, figuratively speaking. And as I mentioned before, they get away with it. Even if the site (where they post it) can detect (IP adress etc, etc), who it was.
This is an ethical problem, really. I think there should be something done about this. Maybe to add a program or some verifying device to the internet, which actually can identify, if this is You or not.
In Estonia, we have this system called ID-card. It lets to do certain things online (like applications, buy a bus card, etc.) without even having to step out from the house. It is a great way for the elderly (if they know how to use the internet) or the disabled, who, even in good will, just can’t go out, as most of us, who can.
I think a similar system should be applied on the internet everywhere, so these destructive persons, who are afraid to speak with their own name, in public, should take the responsibility to their words. If this would be done, most of those ‘secretly advisors’ who say horrible things, that aren’t even true most of the times, would stop. Because they would be too afraid to speak in their own name. Because they have been used to hiding. Getting away with whatever they are saying.
And some people say things just to say them. To make their lives more interesting. To make something up – like false stories. This should probably stop then also.
PS! Paulo You are looking very relaxed, and at peace, in some way, speaking in this video. Although there is a sad tone in Your eyes, a bit.
But actually I really feel for those people, who are viciously insulted for no reason. And this ‘free of speech’ law is right – we should be able to speak freely. But I disagree with the fact that You can hide behind a false identity. You can also speek freely with having Your own name behind it. And this would be even more honest for everyone. And this would prevent many negative effects I think.
Thanks for the topic.
Love,
L.L.
(member name IronicMaiden)
I can agree that we should be held accountable for our opinions, even more so when it can be destructive. That said, however, I also feel that there is a lot to say for anonymity.
Even in our liberal day and age, there are still societies were freedom of speech and press is nothing but a diabolical illusion. Most individuals want to put there opinion out there, but not at the risk of persecution. This brings me to another form of anonymity; pseudonymity, or a nom de plume. If for instance, I became famous by writing soppy paper back romantic novels under my birth name, and in later years I decide to change over to a fleshier topic, let’s say philosophy, no one will ever take me seriously. They will forever connect my name to the paper backs in the local supermarket. A person may use a pseudonym to write messages, where the person does not want people’s preconception of the real author to shade their perception. Also other people may want to hide certain information about themselves in order to achieve a more unbiased evaluation of their messages. Many of our famous writers have resorted to do a nom de plume, such as Marc Twain as a pseudonym for Samuel Clemens. Anonymity is not something which was invented with the Internet. Anonymity has occurred throughout history. For example, William Shakespeare is probably a pseudonym, and the real name of this famous author is not known and will probably never be known.
Really that is what you think?
Big Brother might be watching you never know.
You have a point, there is an undercurrent of uneasiness however to label it that it is in order to insult what people do might be taking it a bit to the extreme.
Is not it more to do with the FEAR bit that everybody is feeling? Hiding behind the “mask” is more comfortable.
Who are Jeff Jarvis from buzzmachine and Michael Arrington from TechCrunch? What do they do? Why were they spat at?
It is easy to know who is sending e-mail because it is a requirement. Is this not a way on checking on people too?
Let me re-assure you, with me this is not the case.
Nr 1 writer always.
I think there is good and bad from both sides.
I make a pledge to day it wont happen again. Happy?
I have 2 blogs, a personal blog and a dance blog. They both have my name on them. My name is Arlene and I take full responsibility for my actions, comments, etc. There are people that leave comments on my blogs and I don’t know who they are as they hide behind their alternative names. I have discovered who a couple of them are. Some are pleasant and some are not.
I have been told that people might treat me differently if they knew who I was. I don’t really care. Some are nicer to me and some do not want to talk to me. I want to be a writer. What am I saying? I am a writer and I would like to get paid for it. A writer lives by their byline or work.
I can understand why people ‘hide’ behind false names. Just because I understand it, doesn’t mean I agree with it. I think it has to do with fear.
What I want to know is: who’s mother was it that said ‘if you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything’?
There are negative people that are insulting. There are ways of making a point without making personal or insulting remarks. I think that the people who hide are limited and I, for one, refuse to be intimidated by limited individuals.
Some people are cowards,
some don’t know what compassion and acceptance are,
and it doesn’t only happen when people withold their name, they can be who they want to be on the internet, whether that includes being rude, crude or whatever.
Yes
the dark side
xxxx
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