Guest Post by Willis Eschenbach
Why do people not sign their own names to what they write on the internet, and in particular on this blog? I thought I’d ask people this in the form of an anonymous poll. But before I do that, I want to get the full range of possibilities, so I’ve decided to crowdsource the poll questions. To date I have a number of possible reasons someone might give for posting anonymously, which are not mutually exclusive.
Here’s the first cut of possible reasons why someone might post anonymously:
- I’m concerned that putting my real name to my ideas will cause me trouble at my work.
- I’m concerned that putting my real name to my ideas will cause me trouble at home or with my family.
- I’m concerned that putting my real name to my ideas will cause me trouble with my friends and acquaintances.
- I’m concerned that putting my real name to my ideas will cause me trouble at my school or university.
- I’m posting from a country which discourages freedom of speech.
- I’m concerned that someone will take violent exception to my views about climate and threaten me or my family.
- I feel more comfortable posting anonymously, but I’m not sure why.
- I’m concerned about putting any personal information about myself on the web for any reason.
- I find it easier to express negative views when I post anonymously.
- I’m posting from work on company time, or the equivalent (e.g. posting when I’m supposed to be studying).
- I don’t want people to be able to research my previous statements.
Now, my questions about all of this are:
- What else would be another reason that someone might have, that should be listed on the poll?
- What other questions (age, sex, etc.) would it be useful to know?
- How about the wording of the questions? Is it neutral, is it biased?
- Order of the questions? Which ones first, which ones last?
Many thanks for your contributions, the relevant ones will be included in the poll.
w.
PS – Please be clear that I’m interested in possible reasons people might post anonymously on WUWT, not a justification or an argument for or against posting anonymously. This thread is to design the poll, not to debate anonymity.
[UPDATE] Added from the comments, with my thanks. Note that in the poll people will be able to choose more than one response.
- I feel able to express more confident views if those statements aren’t personally attributable to me.
- I’m posting for relaxation – not “publication”.
- Using my real name is just asking for ad hominem attacks.
- I don’t know who might read the post and what they might do with it.
- I don’t wish to disclose my formal qualifications, or lack of them, or that I am in a different field.
- I can say things that I would be embarrassed to say in person.
- I’m lazy.
- I work with people who believe Albert Gore is a scientist.
- I work with clients/customers or in a market where skeptical views are not welcome.
- Metaphorically speaking, I have relatives in the old country …
- To be honest, I also say some pretty stupid things, occasionally, especially when imbibing the suds.
- I am concerned about identity theft.
- It’s a chance to let out my repressed wild and crazy inner personalities.
- Stalking is always a concern to a female.
- I have someone constantly Googling my name.
- It’s traditional since the beginning of the web to have a handle.
- It allows me to “compartmentalize” my opinions on very different subjects.
- I enjoy “trolling”, stirring things up.
- I have worked for oil companies, mining companies or agribusiness and it would likely be held against me.
- I use a moniker because it describes what I am and how I see the world in 3 words.
- I post anonymously for the same reason I do not register a gun.
- Who wants to be responsible for my stupid ramblings when I am involved with Jack Daniels? Not me!
- I am under an implied contract to never make public pronouncement under my name that might in any way embarrass or disadvantage any segment of a multifaceted corporate endeavor / large university / international organization.
- Greenpeace said “We know who you are. We know where you live. We know where you work. And we be many, but you be few.”
- If I posted under my own name, it would be tantamount to expressing my political views to all and sundry and in my industry/job/school would convey a lack of professionalism.
- I am concerned that my age, gender, ethnicity, educational level, etc are factors that can affect the people who read a comment and many of them unfortunately then respond in a biased way.
- I have been attacked for my views.
- It is like putting on a superman suit, you can say anything, be anything and fly anywhere. And if any-one with kryptonite strikes you down, what does it matter, tomorrow you will be Clark Kent.
- To express things I wouldn’t have courage to express otherwise, the same reason many students are hesitant to put their hand up in class.
- I’m not even half as paranoid as I should be.
- I don’t wish for my thoughts and comments from years gone by to turn up whenever someone does a search on my name.
- I enjoy putting forward an identity that says more about me than my name.
- It’s good that no-one on the internet knows if you’re a frog.
- It would be easy to connect up my posts, email address and ultimately my credit cards. Spam and fraud would then follow.
- I don’t want to be associated with my job when posting on technical subjects.
- I am concerned about the UK defamation law.
- In my country you could be targeted by the consensus people.
- I have a common name and use a pseudonym so that I can search for my postings.
- I am concerned it may cost me business/lose me funding.
- I want readers to judge my comments on their content, not their provenance.
- I plan to run for president and want to be able to change my opinions as may be convenient.
- I am pleased to get some protection from the cloud of gnats hovering around the net.
- A future employer might have issues with some of the things I post.
- Didn’t Zorro and the Lone Ranger wear their masks because of things like this?
- I am the sole support of others.
- I’m not British / American, and for an English speaker my name is difficult to remember / sounds weird / carries a silly pun / leads to misunderstandings.
- I think it is fun to call myself by my handle.
- I don’t care.
- My name is the same as a wanted criminal / bad person.
- I don’t want current comments being dredged up in a possible future political campaign.
- I want to maintain plausible deniability.
- Posting anonymously offers an opportunity for crowd-sourced criticism before having my name attached to a bad idea.
- I I do a fair bit of sub-contract work for companies that have bought into the green dream, so I’m invoking my very own version of the … uh … precautionary principle 🙂
- A rabid green has haunted me in other forums.
- I was stalked relentlessly by some creep who decided that it was fun.
Updates to the other questions:
- Would you seriously consider using your real name after a reasonable period of retirement.
- Would you prefer to be able to post under your own name?
- Career
- Age
- Sex
- Location
It has also been correctly noted that I am describing posting pseudonymously, not anonymously.
It strikes me that I haven’t looked at the other side of the equation, why people post under their own name … ah, well, one thing at a time. My own reasons for posting under my own name, in no particular order, would be:
- I want to be able to claim ownership of my ideas.
- I refuse to be intimidated by the dangers of the world.
- I am much better mannered when I have to take responsibility for my words.
- My claims tend to extravagance when I post anonymously.
- I grew up a cowboy, and criticizing someone from behind a mask of anonymity feels like shooting someone from ambush … and a cowboy can’t do that, it’s in the contract, ask Tom Mix.
UPDATES from the comments regarding posting under your own name.
- I am retired, and don’t care if people read what I post.
- I prefer to say what I think and feel anyway without hiding under a cloak.
- I don’t post anonymously because I have a martyr complex.
- I think it is cowardice to post anonymously.
- Because I don’t follow the herd.
- I say what I mean and am terribly honest at it.
- I believe it is simply good manners to identify yourself when talking to people.
- I have no concern about people reading my opinions a decade from now.
- I can’t lie with a straight face.
- I have to stand for what I believe as who I am, otherwise what I say is all posturing.
- I started posting under my real name after making an ass of myself anonymously in a blog comment section.
- Using my name forces me to keep my posts measured and decent.
- I feel uneasy posting anonymously.
- It’s a matter of clarity and honesty.
- If such things as climate change are important we should pony up and admit where we stand.
- I’m confident enough in who I am to not be concerned about what others think of my opinions.
- Since my work is not publicly funded or grant funded, I’m at liberty to say what I wish without concern of losing my job.
- A person of worth will stand up in their own name for what is right and against what is wrong.
- If they want to google my name, they should do it if they don’t have better things to do.
- I have never not posted with my own and real name. Why would I do otherwise?
- I feel free to change my opinion should I have reason to and will defend or dismiss my former opinions accordingly.
- It would be cowardly for me to hide behind an alias.
- A screen name feels like hiding behind a false front.
- I think that in the long view we as a society get along much better when we know each others names.
- If I have too little courage of my own convictions to sign my name to my opinions, why should anyone pay attention?
- I don’t fear professional retribution as most of my peers hold similar views to mine or are just plain disengaged from the topic of global warming.
- It’s a statement that I will not be intimidated.
- I am totally uninterested about what other people think of me.
- I’ve had my own name a long time and have grown attached to it.
- I consider my self responsible for my own opinions.
- If I write something, I’ll stand for it, or I would not write it.
- I dislike anonymity on principle
That’s it to date, I’ll add more as they come up. I must say that I find the variety of reasons much wider and deeper than I had expected. Ain’t life grand?
Indeed, I rather like this process of crowdsourcing the poll questions. It strikes me that this is a kind of appreciative inquiry that could be of use in other contexts where there is a wide variety of opinions.
w.
A large part of my job is interacting with many regulators and “interested” NGOs(mostly safety and environmental people), and I have found (surprise, surprise) that the majority of those people are strong leftists; and despite the narrative we all keep hearing to the contrary, leftists are not known for their fairness and they are not really “liberals,” at ALL. IMHO. Since I work for “resource extraction” company, I/we are not extremely popular in some circles, anyway. If I were to get embroiled in some silly argument online that somehow impacts the firm I work for, then I will probably be retired real quickly :).
To be honest, I also say some pretty stupid things, occasionally, especially when imbibing the suds–and I don’t like my aquaintances (or the smart-asses on line) to chide me.
I have never not posted with my own and real name. Why would do otherwise?
galileonardo says:
April 24, 2011 at 10:01 am
I busted out laughing at that one, you have me there. However, I can’t do that. You can take the boy out of the ranch, but you can’t get the ranch out of the boy …
Absolutely, and you are totally correct to remain anonymous. A person who is the sole support of others is not in the same boat as someone who only supports their own self.
w.
There are consequences to everything. I try to conduct myself on the net as though I were involved in a face to face discussion. We must take responsibility for the things we say and post, especially if the things you have posted will draw the spotlight to you. This requires fortitude. I understand both views on this issue. The hardest questions should be those we ask our selves. The ultimate smell test.
My surname is even in The Netherlands an exceptional Frisian name and my family name is exceptional too. Both come from my mothers and fathers families, making the combination unique. I am the only one on this planet with this name. I post under my name because (1) I am totally uninterested about what other people think of me, (2) if they want to google my name, they should do it if they don’t have better things to do, (3) I consider my self responsible for my own opinions.
Golly,
If this will make anyone happier.
My REAL name is Thomas Pearson.
I have been using Sunsettommy for at least 10 years.Because it is a internet “nickname”.I will still use it for long time to come.
Since I am not a scientist,or a big shot in anything concerning making policy.There is no particular reason for me to have to post my real name.It would make no difference at all.
I run a tiny climate skeptic forum,because I want to help the layman.My name real or not is irrelevant there.I do not even bother trying to convince anyone to post their real names there.Because again it is a layman based forum with an inner forum (in my forum) run by Derek.That has a lot of the “heavier” science in it.
But Richard Courtney made an excellent point about scientists who does hide behind some username.It is to avoid easy accountability of their deliberate misleading claims they make.It speaks of their disinterest in their own personal credibility.Only to push some AGW propaganda on the unsuspecting world.
These are the people who SHOULD post their real names.Since what they comment can carry weight with politicians,Environmentalists and the bewildered voters.We need to know who they are and what they promote is credible.
For the layman.It is not really necessary to post a real name.
For the scientist,policy makers and organized group leaders.They should have their real names posted.
Otherwise,how would we be able to examine their records on what they say and do?
For me it’s a number of issues, many of which have already been noted. I haven’t read thru all the comments, but one I don’t see mentioned in the article yet that is a concern of mine is the possible long term effect on one’s career. In other words, not so much in one’s immediate job, but in the possibility of someone who happens to have very strong (and perhaps unfounded) beliefs about xyz, deciding to refuse to make a job offer simply based on a comment I may have made a bazillion years ago on the subject – especially when so many things I comment on have NOTHING to do with my career field. The person may not even be a science type, they might be in HR, and yet decide that they don’t happen to like something I posted. I work in a very highly technical scientific discipline that also happens to be very small relatively speaking – and I don’t want some opinion of mine from years ago on some utterly unrelated issue to cause problems this way. Its just too easy and quick for people to google you – and also far too quick and easy for things posted to be taken WAY out of context, because too many people aren’t going to bother to read the entire thread or any follow up comments that you may have made once they happen on something you wrote that is contrary to some strongly held belief of their own, if they happen to be the type of person who is likely to cause you this sort of problem.
I believe it is simply good manners to identify yourself when talking to people.
My friends know who I am. Strangers can’t find me. That’s the way I want it to be.
Which name do you use when someone changes their name?
Having your real name and other information posted online, creates a greater possibility of being targeted for identity theft.
Stalking is always a concern to a female. I do not want just anyone to know my real name and address. People can look up my address on Google earth/maps etc and see my house, my back yard, and my security or lack of security features.
I run a business, and any business person knows that (unless have already made their money and thus independent), you should not mix business with your politics as your business will suffer. That has always been so. Nothing to do with AGW. That’s the reason most business groups are patsies and do not rock the boat with government.
AGW is a political movement intended to bring the world under one world socialist/green government. Ever read the book 1984? Read that and you will know why most of us blog under a pseudonym.
As one person has said, fear is the motivator. I don’t think there is much democracy left anywhere in the world, or any unpoliticised public service, or teachers associations, the left has seen to that.
If you own a mobile phone, you are being tracked everywhere as well.
Let’s face it, Big Brother IS watching us.
I’ve got a common name (here in England) and I know three others with it. My “go by” name can raise a smile here, too, for reasons too long to explain. It might also avoid people contacting me saying – for example – Are you the “Bill Smith” who won that big lottery prize last week?
I am looking for a job, and am concerned that anything I say would be used against me no matter the subject. There are some real dummies in personnel departments.
Its a good question asked. Ancient fossil fish, lobe -finned ‘personalisation’. ., hence pseudonym’. Its unfortunate that the Crossopterygii’, precursors to amphibia/land adaptation, remain in preservational deposits, and remain across a series of major probable EU exploited strata, whilst indeterminate legislation confirms, across their geo potentialn’t want.
I dont want to be known; but if a little appreciative realisation that this spectacular grouping deserves recognition, be it for the fins.
jae says:
“To be honest, I also say some pretty stupid things, occasionally, especially when imbibing the suds”
OK. That one really comes home to roost. It is a whole lot more fun to snipe at someone in a comments section when fortified with alcohol. Who wants to be responsible for my stupid ramblings when I am involved with Jack Daniels? Not me!
Perhaps, but your experience may not be generalizable. You are also continuing to conflate ‘anonymous’ with ‘pen name’ (or the Internet equivalent), a correction others have made above. I have used mine for so long—but in just a few forums—that people generally know what I think, and so I’m not really anonymous.
I have found that spoilers or trolls, intent upon stirring up trouble on Internet boards, always use pen names, or handles, for the masks they confer, so in that respect you are correct. But most of us just rely on our pen names out of habit, or for other reasons expressed above. I, for one, would not write any differently if I used my family name, because to people here and elsewhere, I am, for better or worse,
/Mr Lynn
While I rarely post on this site (I read it to learn and rarely know enough to make a relevant contribution to the conversation, but I love learning from here), I do post in a couple of other places and don’t use my real name for several reasons:
— I would like to find a new job eventually and my name is rather unique so if someone googles me there is no confusion about whether it is me or someone else. While I stand by any comments I make, I don’t want them figuring into a job interview one way or another when they would have absolutely nothing to do with the type of job I was interviewing for or the quality of the work I do.
— I have two teenagers and feel like being a teenager is tough enough without having a teacher or peers reading what their parent says and holding it against them.
— I sometimes enjoy engaging in a conversation on the web at times that I choose on blogs that I choose. But I don’t want to have a neighbor or co-worker engage me at a time when I prefer not to be engaged because they read what I wrote.
Now all three of the above are probably more important to me because I have rather skeptical, libertarian, conservative views and live in a very left-leaning area that is populated with some activist types. While I don’t hide my views or pretend to think differently than I do, I also don’t care to have anyone who cares to google me discover them.
I use a moniker because it describes what I am and how I see the world in 3 words. I could post as Kevin Lohse, but my name conveys little of what the reader can expect.
Scientists who post on this blog under their own names use their names as monikers. Many of you are widely known in the field, so readers know what to expect when they see your name as a byline.
Now, my questions about all of this are:
* What else would be another reason that someone might have, that should be listed on the poll?
* What other questions (age, sex, etc.) would it be useful to know?
* How about the wording of the questions? Is it neutral, is it biased?
* Order of the questions? Which ones first, which ones last?
——————————————————————————————————————-
From “Understanding Polling Methodology” :
What type of poll is it (omnibus, commissioned, academic)?
What were the exact dates of polling?
Who conducted the poll, for whom, and for what
purpose?
What were the exact question wordings?
What was the order of questions?
How were undecideds treated?
What was the response rate?
Is this really something the public has views about?
Link to source:
http://www.queensu.ca/cora/_files/mendlesohn_e.pdf
Unfortunately anonymity fosters a positive feedback loop in a bad way. Consider the following: You are in McDonalds and someone brushes up against you, spilling your coffee. How do you react if 1) You know the name of the person (not necessarily “know” them, just their name) and 2) You don’t know their name. In case one a “person” has accidently spilled your coffee, and just like you would, probably feels bad and promptly apologizes. In case two, a “thing” has accidently spilled your coffee, and you probably want to “whack it”.
I understand the reasons why someone would post anonomously (career, reputation, retribution, etc), but I think that in the long view we as a society of “persons” as opposed to “things” get along much better when we know each others names.
I think a reason for posting anonomously is to perpetuate a notion that I am a person, and everybody else is a “thing”.
@Ethan Brand,
Strange world you inhabit. What you describe is a loss of civilisation. I don’t need to know someone’s name to apologise to them for spilling their coffee – and I expect the same courtesy in return. And no I wouldn’t feel like ‘whacking’ them.
I’ve been posting under my own name since the early ’80’s when I was developing ARPAnet equipment as “good@acc”, no bloody dot-anything required. I have no doubt that slanders against me by latter-day sock puppets have injured me in my career, but if I have too little courage of my own convictions to sign my name to my opinions, why should anyone pay attention?
I started posting under a handle 1) because I worked for the Government, 2) because I thought it was an extention of the old CB traditions, and 3) because I liked the idea of my handle being my alternative ego. Now I’m retired and just carried on using the handle out of inertia. So, even an old dog can learn new tricks.
Willis,
Here’s the story of my anonymity:
I had never been on a blog, or paid any attention whatsoever to blogging until I read about Climategate in the Wall Street Journal. I had actually paid very little attention to Global Warming although prior to the WSJ articles and op-eds I do have a recollection of reading something by James Hanson in Newsweek and was appalled at his urging of college kids to riot. I thought he was unhinged (at the time). I now realize he is suffering from some mild form of psychosis.
Anyhow, those WSJ articles got me interested in climate science and somehow I ended up here. I wanted to join the comments and join the fun – so I signed up here. I thought one was supposed to “make-up” a name – I thought it was part of the game. I just really didn’t know. So I called myself GregO and started commenting on blogs.
For the record, my real name is Gregory Olsen, I have degrees in Mechanical Engineering and Business. I have been a practicing engineer since 1980. I own my company – it is a small manufacturing and engineering firm and I employ 14 people. I live in Arizona.
There.
I think it is fun to call myself GregO and will continue to do so.
I went for semi-anonymity: (a) I am indeed a Steve, and didn’t see any of the other Steves commenting here using my surname initial, but also (b) what Orkneygal said. Not inaccurate, but not too specific.