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.
No upside and only a possible great big downside. Security’s the name of the game today and people only read something written only if they want to know and learn through time whether they can generally trust and its worth considering the thoughts anyway. I hate authority of any form, it’s really all about content and commonsense in the words.
What’s the upside but ego? I agree with Beesaman and Dave above, would me using two names such as “Mark Twain” be better? It’s just a sequence of letters and “Willis Eschenbach” may just be a pen name for all I know, really, how would I ever know. Same for all of the other names above in any post on any blog. At least my signin is half true though half missing. ☺
Samuel Langhorne Clemens used several pen names, finally settling on one, as described here:
http://www.marktwaininstitute.org/pen-names.html
Did he ever say why he used pen names, or was it just the custom for an alter ego?
At any rate, take heart: yours could also become better-known than your given name.
/Mr Lynn
Dislike anonymity on principle, and post using identifiable real name accordingly. Everything I’ve ever written is thereby on public record, and PCBS types concerned to shut off commentary on whatever stupid premises will have to seek elsewhere. From murderous mullah-dullahs to Green Gang climate cultists, we’ll stand with Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, who advised a threatening blackmailer: “Publish, and be damned.”
Well, it is my name. I’ve had it a long time and have grown attached to it. I am not yet afraid of expressing my opinions, even in Gillard’s Australia.
John Gorter
I’m not too concerned about fallout at my present job. But I could see it affecting future employment searches.
I wrote about my views on anonymity in the climate debate in this post:
Kevin Trenberth and the memes of the Post-Climategate Period
I post under a pseudonym because it forces people to focus on what I am saying.
It would help if posters could identify their geographic locations when it is relevant. For example “swept 3 inches of snow off the driveway this morning”, or “driest spring in 50 years here” is much more interesting when we know where they are talking about.
A damp, cool autumnal day here (26 S, 26 E) – South African highveld.
I’d say that I’m posting semi-autonomously. Paul is indeed my first name, and H is the first initial of my last name. If someone wants to do some digging, I’m sure they’ll find the rest of my name. 😉
If you do the survey, please allow respondents to cite multiple reasons, because several of those listed apply in my case.
As an additional reason: I wouldn’t discuss politics with colleagues/customers/clients, unless I know they are also good friends. I would advise most people not to do that either: in my industry, it is close to unprofessional to do so. If I posted under my own name, it would be tantamount to expressing my political views to all and sundry and would convey a lack of professionalism.
I always use my given name. After I successfuly defended my thesis in Oct ’72 at UC Irvine, the best last bit of advice I got from any professor was that from my senior thesis adviser. Prof. Mike Fisch said to me: Don’t ever be afraid to blow your own horn!
I’ll lose 90% of my friends if they ever find out what I truly think about the Holy Global Warming.
A couple reasons to post anonymously from anonymous commentors I’ve exchanged Email with:
One is a petroleum geologist. Like all geologists, he knows Earth has seen worse than anything CAGW has dealt out. Cape Cod is but a moment in time. Eventually , all the great cities will be scraped off at a tectonic plate boundary. For some reason a subset of people go ballistic when they see posts from petroleum geologists.
The other is a person with influence on grant proposals. While eminently fair, he doesn’t give special consideration to “green” projects. Those who do would go ballistic if they knew that person reads WUWT, let alone occasionally posts here.
I do ocassionally use my real name (as above) but often like to use silly pseudonymns because…well, that’s just the way I am….
I generally never court vicious or hateful controversy in any case and am able to be reasoned with better than many I feel…..
Just my view.
Personally, I’d be quite happy to post under my full name – I don’t think it would cause me any embarrassment or threat.
One thing Willis may not have considered is the ‘traditional’ nature of a ‘handle’ or nickname/nom de plume?
Blogging appears to always have been based on a ‘handle’ – I confess, I chose mine because it seemed ‘traditional’ and no other reason.
That said – the google/isp aspect is a little worrying especially if someone is ‘in’ a sensitive environment and with various data losses and security breaches – at least a nickname is a bit of personal ‘firewall’?
I don’t understand the crazy litigous nature of the USA – but I guess it is also some protection against those that perhaps deliberately set out to inflame and get a response in order to sue! Although, I personally am unlikely to leave myself open to such a claim – in the heat of discussion, some might easily fall into the trap?
The reason for anonymity is due to the disparity between the lack of careful thought one puts in making a blog comment versus the world-wide and for-all-time audience of the post.
Because I used to be able to make this cool frog sound with my voice since 2nd grade, I’ve always been nick-named “frog”-something… “froggy”, “froggymike” “ribbit-frog”, Pee-Wee Ribbit Frog.. whatever. In 92, right out of college, I started then destroyed my own tee shirt company called “Frogonit”! Years latter, I started my current business “Frog’s Pool Service and Spa Repair” and have been in operation for 11 years. My bass guitar cabinet has one of my “Frogonit” designs painted on it, and my current business logo is another former tee-shirt design. My friends used to differentiate me from other friends named Mike by dubbing me “Froggymike”. In the early 2000’s, when acquiring internet domain names was all the rage, I acquired a few. Sonicfrog.net is the one I used most often. On the net, I was froggymike for a long time. Then when I decided to start my blog (just before Surfacestations.org was launched btw) I (semi)officially became Sonicfrog.
If someone wants to find out my name, it’s not hard to do and I don’t have any problems with anyone knowing my name… It’s just more fun this way!!!
In my current professional position, it would be uncomfortable for me to be known as a global warming skeptic. That’s why I don’t use my full name on WUWT.
Amazing – my last comment got dumped in the spam bucket!
As for why I use my real name:
I implemented some of the ARPAnet protocols that are still in use. The ARPAnet community was small, and had a few groups of people that all worked together and appreciated the new medium. I think we were all surprised at what happened when non-implementors showed up and didn’t have our background.
Back then, we all used our name, and I figure with a name like Werme (and even a nickname like Ric), there’s no place to hide now. Besides, I tend to avoid ad-hominem attacks, and reply to criticism with level-headed explanations and support. As such, I haven’t been stalked, haven’t found a cross burning in my front yard, nor woken up to find a horse’s head in my bed.
BTW – recently someone created a web page that has a reference to me from 1971, before ARPAnet days! See http://www.conwaylife.com/wiki/index.php?title=Lifeline_Volume_1 Curiously enough, another person, Ray Tomlinson, mentioned in that sentence also went on to ARPAnet Email development. I think he gets credit for the first Email sent between similar OSes, I may get credit for the first sent between dissimilar OSes. It wasn’t a “Watson, come here” moment, it was more like “Test after remembering CRLF in MLFL command.”
Another suggestion for the poll:
You don’t provide any option to allow a user to edit or remove a comment.
If someone posts with a typo or error of grammar (or even meaning) his clumsiness/stupidity will forever after be visible. Personally I don’t want to have to check every word I post on every blog as if it will follow me around for the next 50 years. I’m not writing academic theses… they’re blog posts.
I have shareholders who should’t be negatively impacted by any backlash associated with my blogging. I also think that the facts I present should stand on their own/be viewed in isolation, irrelevant to who I am.
With that said, I plan to attend ICCC6 at the end of the quarter, which will likely mark the end of my anonymity.
“I feel able to express more confident views if those statements aren’t personally attributable to me.”
This is interesting to me as suggesting a higher level of confidence that what is warranted has not stopped the IPCC from suggesting high levels of accuracy.
John M Reynolds
I am an infrequent commenter at WUWT. Though this isn’t an issue at WUWT, it is at other various sites I visit. Many require a “profile” that they limit to a few types of ISP accounts (gmail, or Facebook for example) and disallow the comment unless a profile is selected. Lacking an “approved” account, I often have to pick “anonymous,” though I then generally sign my name or some variant (like Ron P.). I suspect those sites may do it this way due to lack of human moderators being available, but it can be frustrating.
I have had personal experience with loonies who posed a credible threat while I was posting regularly on another highly controversial topic. Also, on the same topic, a rather large corporation was interested in a SLAP suit against me (no basis, just to silence me) just so I’d quit posting. Lesson learned.
Anthony and TheMods (doo-wop, doo-wah) can just email me and ask who I am… if they give a rat’s patootie about who I am.
Some commenters express appreciation for some of my humorous comments; when I ask questions (now and then), the regulars make sure I get an answer; when I do throw in a tid-bit or argue a point of the science (rarely), I do it with respect and I get shown the error of my thinking or my point is not refuted.
AND… no ad homs from me (except Al Gore – fair game). I agree with Willis that “shooting in ambush from behind a rock” is not acceptable.
Anthony said long ago that annonymous posters would be allowed but would be second class. So be it. I like WUWT because respectful annonymous posters are actually treated very well here, so long as they are not throwing out ad homs at anyone.
w.
I started out using my name with a link to my little business on WUWT. After gaining a bit better understanding of how Google, et al collect data to sell to others I felt it might be a wiser choice to come up with some handle that comes close to my personality and how I process information. Hence my current tag.
As to what questions (answers actually) would be of interest to me in a poll- As a lot of the discussion here has to do with the scientific method and how one uses it to reduce uncertainty I would be interested in the following questions:
1) Have you personally used the scientific method. Yes, No.
1.1) When you applied the scientific method what type of investigations/inquiries did you undertake;
1.1a) In the hard sciences: physics, chemistry, etc…………….
1.1.b) In the soft sciences; economics, sociology, etc, political science
1.1c) Would you classify your efforts efforts in using the scientific method as product or process related (engineering, system related,etc)?
1.1.d) What percentage of your use of the scientific method falls in the following categories
1.1.d.1) Basic research
1.1.d.2) Applied research
1.1.d.3) Product and process development
1.1.d.4) Maintenance of processes using the scientific method (quality engineering, etc.)
2) How many years experience do to you have using the scientific method?
3) Have you ever taken a personality test such as the Meyers Briggs Personality Profile http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myers-Briggs_Type_Indicator. Yes, No
3.1) If yes, what was your classification: list the 16 variations in MB profile
As Steve McIntyre has noted many folks who have used the scientific method in Applied Research, Product and Process development (or any combination of Exploratory Research and Development Engineering -as noted in Pearson’s Uncertainty matrix-) , or quality engineering feel that science of climate isn’t settled.
John Gaynard discuses Person’s matrix as follows (as noted: http://johngaynardcreativity.blogspot.com/2009/01/industrial-design-three-different-types.html):
“Alan Pearson described in his 1991 article “Managing Innovation: an uncertainty reduction process” (which is impossible to find on the web, although there are many references to it in Google Scholar). Here are Pearson’s types of innovation:
Exploratory Research, when there are unclear objectives and no clearly understood ways or technologies for getting to those objectives.
Development Engineering, when the objectives are clear but the ways, technologies or processes to reach them are unclear.
Application-seeking, when technologies or processes are already part of the company’s knowledge and competency base but it is unclear how they can best be used.
Technical and market combination, where the objectives for innovation are well understood and the technologies for getting there are also part of the firm’s toolkit.
These four different types of innovation are caught in the Pearson Matrix for Mapping Uncertainty a 2X2 matrix based on unclear means, clear means, unclear ends and clear ends.”
Who is Steve Goddard and what happened to him?