Who are you?

Anonymous posters and anonymous regulars

Published on December 28, 2005 By Leauki In Blog Communities

Every now and then an anonymous (and temporary) poster replied to an article, usually in a rather stupid way.

The regular sometimes refer to such a poster as an "anonymous" poster.

Now, it appears that most regulars here are anonymous as well.

I realise that many regulars here believe they have very good reasons for not telling the world who they are. But I also think that many of these reasons are not very good, compared to the principle of standing up for one's own opinions and statements.

For me, informing people who I speak to of my name and contact details has always (since I was told that on Usenet) been a given; not something to consider and not do when there are too many arguments against it, but a part of every word I say, the pre-requisite of talking, unless really uncalled for. The "me" on the net is the same person as the "me" in real life. It's not a digital character, it's me myself and I.

Sometimes JoeUser displays my name, sometimes my login name (Leauki). I still haven't quite figured out why it switches between the two and when. It seems to have something to do with the forums and the blog site etc., but I always access JoeUser via the same link on my home page.

Anyway, for those of you who have somehow missed who I am, here's me:

Andrew Brehm
Rathmines, Dublin, Ireland
http://www.netneurotic.net
http://www.netneurotic.net/me/

(The CV is not current.)

And I would really like to know who all these people are that I keep talking to. If you still don't want to tell the world, just tell me:

andrew@netneurotic.net

Merry Christmas.

Comments (Page 3)

momijiki

on Dec 29, 2005

well, as long as your satisfied with your social experiment

Leauki

on Dec 29, 2005

It wasn't one at the beginning.

It is a strange world in which asking those you have interacted with for longer than a year who they are becomes an "experiment".

Gideon MacLeish

on Dec 29, 2005

Gideon Macleish is my pen name. I prefer to use it for everything that I put in print in political writing, and for any eventual lecturing I might do in political arenas.

As for my real name, well, I'll be "unmasked" soon enough (announcement coming next week--after filing deadlines are past!). I'll have to have you wait in suspense for a tad longer, Andrew (lol). But "Gideon" is pretty much my preferred name (it's the name I chose; the other was chosen for me).

I live in Lefors, Texas, and can't upload a pic, as this is the library's computer.

Leauki

on Dec 29, 2005

Very good, Gideon. I knew it was a pen name. But from your writings I always had a good idea of who you were person-wise.

Tova7

on Dec 29, 2005

Coming in late as usual.

My name is Tonya, um one of the reasons I don't give my last name is because of my kids. The second is because my husband forbid it because giving an opinion with my full name has come back to bite us before.....long story.

I live in a suburb of Dayton Ohio at present. I stay at home with my kids right now and try to fill the void when their daddy is gone on business, which is a lot.

I love to read and write but never seem to have adequate time for both. My kids are busy with their activities and I am constantly on the go with those.

I have done the Air Force, been a tv news journalist, a commercial producer, radio personality, newspaper editor/photographer, off and on actress (theater of course..hehe), board member of international organization, aerobics instructor, worked in law enforcement for awhile, and that's all I can think of off the top of my head.

I am usually an active member in my church (Protestant) and attend women's Bible studies or retreats. I say usually because we moved here over the summer and haven't found a church home yet. I like to play acoustic guitar and write my own music (Christian music) mostly because I am not very good playing other people's stuff.

I've lived in Ohio, Kentucky, Colorado, Texas, Mississippi, Florida, Delaware, North Dakota, Japan, Philippines, Alaska and have traveled to many other parts of the world sometimes staying months at a time, though it was not my official home.

I am in real life who I am on JU, except on JU I am a bit more reserved. I don't have the time to take on subjects here I will generally tackle in real life...face to face. I know people here use the time factor as a cop out, but its not a cop out for me, its fact.

I have made some bad decisions in my life and I don't mind sharing them or any thing for that matter. I can't think of anything from my past I did or that has happened to me that carries any emotional weight with it.....I can honestly thank God for releasing me from that baggage many years ago.

I would write more, but guess what? Real life calls and I must play Taxi driver for my youngest!

Have a great day!

Tova7

on Dec 29, 2005

Oh and this is me on my back porch with my son last winter but I cut him out....
Link

Leauki

on Dec 29, 2005

Tova, that's funny, I thought you were Jewish (mostly because of the name "Tova", it means good (female)).

But it's good to hear that you would usually be an active member of a church. I myself enjoy what our community has to offer and am very thankful for those who work to make things happen. (I really don't have the time to do much myself!)

Tova7

on Dec 29, 2005

I thought you were Jewish

That doesn't surprise me. I have a real heart for the Jewish nation.

My youngest son's middle name is Tobias...Hebrew meaning "God is good." I just picked the female version of it for my JU name and the number God uses for complete.

In the fiction stories I write, the characters names are ALWAYS significant and will often give insight into the character before his or her actions do. Most are Hebrew and Gaelic.....

Just another caveat!

Furry Canary

on Dec 30, 2005

'I believe that this is what Furry Canary was trying to say, but I agree he was unceccesarily snotty about it.'

Thanks LW. Yes, I was simply suggesting that someone's reasons for maintaining anonymity are not necessarily poor just because Andrew J. Brehm deems it so. He goes on to say 'It is however very doubtful that a full 90% of JoeUser posters have such reasons. I believe most are just not very personable.' I assume he has reliable sources for his stats, and they are not just plucked out of thin air.

So, is my point really so snotty? It wasn't intended as such. And I certainly never suggested that 'I believe he [AJB] has no right to ask the question he asked', nor did I ever tell him 'THAT IT ISN'T OK FOR ME TO DO THAT IN MY OWN BLOG' as he has said subsequently, with - I would suggest - significantly more snottiness.

'I doubt if many could even tell ya whether FC is male or female. I know I cant.'
I'm a boy! (As the Who once said.) And you knew that LW! But maybe you forgot. (It caused a bit of a laugh before when one of the Doctors began to defend my feminine honour against abuse from a third party until I put him right.)

'So go away!'
No. Blacklist me if you must, AJB. Alternatively, you go away - and sign up for a blog site that demands full disclosure from all participants. I'm quite happy here, and I have broken none of the rules of the place.

Leauki

on Dec 30, 2005

Well... here is something to consider. Communication is only about 25% of the words that we actually use. The rest comes about with gesture, facial expression and intonation.

That is a good point.

But I don't see how limiting the flow of information can help here.

If I know more about somebody I talk to, I get certainly more communication, don't I? Like when I have an idea of somebody's background, perhaps know what they look like, get an idea of what their accent might be like... that's all part of the 75% you mention. I considered exactly that (but didn't have any numbers). That's why I asked the question.

For example, people know I live in Ireland. This gives you some information you can use to decipher what I say. When I say "public school accent", do I mean an upper-class accent or a lower-class accent? My background gives you an answer. (A "public school accent" is an upper-class accent.) There's some of the 75% you need to communicate better.

People know that I have also lived in Germany. You can use this knowledge (which is, again, part of the 75%) to deduce that when I talk about the continent, I might talk from experience as well as encyclopedic facts. Again, it helps us to communicate.

I assume he has reliable sources for his stats, and they are not just plucked out of thin air.

No. I don't have reliable sources for my stats about something I consider doubtful.

As for blog sites that demand full disclosure, I don't see the connection between asking people who they are and demanding full disclosure. I really don't.

Dr Guy

on Dec 30, 2005

I live in a suburb of Dayton Ohio at present.

Xenia? (Went to UD, so I know the place well - from 30 years ago!)

Leauki

on Dec 30, 2005

In the fiction stories I write, the characters names are ALWAYS significant and will often give insight into the character before his or her actions do. Most are Hebrew and Gaelic.....

Excellent idea. Gaelic is of course at home with me. I don't speak Irish, but I read it a lot (on street signs).

Well, that closes the circle, I suppose. You thought I was a girl (remember?) and I thought you were Jewish. Reminds me of the priest/rabbi-dagger/sword joke (from Men in Tights).

Tova7

on Dec 30, 2005

Xenia? (Went to UD, so I know the place well - from 30 years ago!)

BITE your tongue. Xenia has really gone down hill and it pretty slummy now....

We live in Beavercreek, but you may not know it Doc because it is only 25 years old. It's very pretty and really green.

Tova7

on Dec 30, 2005

You thought I was a girl (remember?) and I thought you were Jewish. Reminds me of the priest/rabbi-dagger/sword joke (from Man in Tights).

Yeah, the things we suppose about people....lol

drmiler

on Dec 30, 2005

Well... here is something to consider. Communication is only about 25% of the words that we actually use. The rest comes about with gesture, facial expression and intonation.

That is a good point.

But I don't see how limiting the flow of information can help here.

I'm all for limiting the information flow. My information or anyone elses is not now nor will it ever be pertinent to our conversations here. And as such is not needed. Info like that I will give to my friends but that's it. Can you show me one instance where the info you're talking about would be required to carry on a conversation/arguement on JU?

Welcome Guest! Please take the time to register with us.
There are many great features available to you once you register, including:

Richer content, access to many features that are disabled for guests like commenting on the forums.
Access to a great community, with a massive database of many, many areas of interest.
Access to contests & subscription offers like exclusive emails.
It's simple, and FREE!