When I got on the intertubes, oh-so-many years ago - the rules were simple: the ONLY piece of information you could freely give on public forums, or IRC, was your nick. Now, the only piece of information you are supposed to withhold is your credit card number. I'll say this about the new ways: I'm extremely glad that I didn't have my teenage years documented and archived. Dodged that bullet!
At a guess, you're @mrspeaker on Twitter which means you and I met at a local event a few years ago, but I still don't know / can't remember who you are! Funny how that works.
I felt the same way about nicknames, but at some point I realized that I had a digital trail attached to my online-name that was a mile wide. I figured I might as well just start using my real name (which is rather unique already). Also, I find your story of rules interesting. When I was first introduced to the internet (when I was about 7 years old, in school), the one "rule" I remember being told to us over and ove…
Wow, you must be very young, i.e. 10-12, or have very perceptive teachers. I feel that teachers and other authority figures still don't get it , especially those above 40 who aren't in a Internet/computer-heavy field. And even young folks in the tech field still don't realize it (basically everyone who uses something like SnapChat too enthusiastically)
I'm thirty and have been getting on the internet since the first Bush administration. Even at the time, the first rule of the internet is that everything you put online is public. This wasn't just about things that you posted on forums, either. The assumption was that the sysadmin would read your e-mails when she was bored and that anything interesting would be passed around.
I am prejudiced against people who use their real names when the website allows them to use a nickname: I automatically assume they will be uninteresting, their opinions sheepish and will always avoid confrontation or controversial ideas. I feel like they are always talking in the presence of their mother.
On the surface, yes, I suppose if you use your real name you may be tempted to tone down your opinion a bit (presumably the reason why youtube switched to G+ commenting with real names, etc). But on HN, I've actually seen the exact opposite - people with handles derived from their real names seem to make more serious, well thought-out comments. I don't know about "most controversial", but certainly the most useful, w…
HN is technical. You yourself put "most controversial" in quotes. Worst case, you are wrong. It's measurable and it's done. Try saying controversial things about politics or social or theological issues, and you can get killed, mobbed, thrown to jail, your life totally destroyed. "Reputation" for technical things is nice. "Reputation" on political things can be "the 10th anniversary since his execution".
I am prejudiced against people who use their real names when the website allows them to use a nickname: I automatically assume they will be uninteresting, their opinions sheepish and will always avoid confrontation or controversial ideas. I feel like they are always talking in the presence of their mother.
Saying controversial things while hiding behind anonymity isn't exactly what I call brave. People are People, meaning not being anonymous has a modulating influence on people's behavior and that is a good thing. If you doubt this just descend into the comment section of any news article to see the vile stuff people post online because they are anonymous.
There is a fine line between "brave" and "stupid".
I use my real name everywhere online. The reasons why are pretty straightforward: 1. It reminds me to be civil and think before I post. 2. It makes it easier for other people reach out to me based on things I've posted (I have a fairly unique name). Pseudonyms are relatively easy to 'decode'. If I wrote something particularly dumb, offensive, or stupid, and someone wanted to pin that on me, I'm sure they could given…
1. It reminds me to be civil and think before I post. That sounds very much like "I don't kill people because I'd get caught". Why can't you be civil (whatever that means) and think just because?
Maybe he would have been relatively civil, but it reminds him to be even more civil...
The problem is that circumcision isn't a heated controversy, it's not like someone is going to dox you because you made an argument against it. Here's a few arguments off the top of my head that someone might dox you for: -Whether or not feminism is the cause of the recent emasculation of men -Whether or not Israel is committing crimes against humanity in Gaza and against the Palestinians -Whether or not transexual p…
I would far prefer discuss such charged topics in places where people have incentives to choose their words carefully. It's fine to have a controversial opinion, but without checks and balances on behavior, you don't have a discussion, you just have a bunch of racists spouting their vile views.
"you just have a bunch of racists spouting their vile views"
So you are the one that will wisely choose which opinions are "vile", and blacklist them?
I use my real name, and I quite frankly do not care if I get passed up for a job or something like that because of something I said online. I'm pretty sure any employer I would actually want to work for wouldn't care about me ranting about the NSA or something (might even get me a job, who knows). That being said, I do not say anything online that I wouldn't in real life (except perhaps on IRC channels where I use a…
"quite frankly do not care if I get passed up for a job or something like that because of something I said online"
That's because you can still find other jobs. That may not be true for ever.
HN is about the only place I don't use my real name these days, and I wish I could change my profile here so it was. If you're a professional and try to be nice online, I doubt it'll hurt you with anyone you care to be associated.
When I got on the intertubes, oh-so-many years ago - the rules were simple: the ONLY piece of information you could freely give on public forums, or IRC, was your nick. Now, the only piece of information you are supposed to withhold is your credit card number. I'll say this about the new ways: I'm extremely glad that I didn't have my teenage years documented and archived. Dodged that bullet!
DrStalker is based on my real surname and would be very easy to trace to my real name/employment details/the city I'm in with a few minutes of effort. I'm sure someone with a bit more time could get a lot more information than that. This helps remind me that everything online can be traced back to me, so don't be an asshole in situations where you wouldn't be an asshole face to face.
I settled on this after going through lots of different nicknames in the 90s, when the internet was a very different place.