Thoughts on anonymity

Blogospheratician Delicate Flower has posted an interesting question. Go read Change is in the air.

I cannot answer this conundrum of privacy vs professional exposure. I can only tell my own story…

Coming out, so to speak, as your real self online must be your own decision. I know this and you all should know it too; it is potentially dangerous. Young people take note - what is online about you now will probably remain there, somewhere, for the rest of your life and beyond. In the olden days it may just have been a newspaper report in the local rag that no one but a historian in a library archive would ever see again. Now we have Google.

I debated with myself for a long time before I set up Trousers and the blog name itself I chose as an expression of my learning process. I have been around the internet since before there was one. When I first got an email address I only knew two other people online and we were all in the same Department. It was quicker to wait till coffee break and talk to them in person.

Times changed though; newsgroups and forums (fora?) became my home for many years under a range of pseudonyms. Though what I posted under an alias was always really as myself, my own thoughts and feelings and doings. Of course I got hammered and flamed but I never assumed different personalities with the different names; I doubt I am capable of such a thing, it's hard enough just being me.

So what changed? Strangely I think the main reason was Facebook. I'd been following various blogs for ages when a family member enticed me to start a Facebook account, which I did in my own name. Very soon I began posting 'notes' or whatever in a bloggy sort of way and quickly realised that Facebook is not a medium for that kind of expression (not to me anyway). I had to move on, Trousers was born and I wanted to continue being me. I was/am prepared (by experience, I hope) for any backlash, I am sometimes very outspoken about religion for example, but so far the worst I get is Japanese porn site spam. Trousers could have evolved very differently given a different response.

Interweaved with the above is another reason for my non-anonymity. I'm getting older and I'm happy being me. Oh I've just as many failings as anyone else, more perhaps or it often feels that way, but I have come this far and there are things I have learned which I would like to share with others. Where I have my name on a scientific publication I am proud of it, I was there, I helped do that work over months or years sometimes. That was me! Anonymity was unthinkable. Similarly, when I post video clips nowadays, that's what I have been watching. When I am outspoken, that's me, it's what I think. I hope I'm strong enough for my own honesty, if not I will learn. I don't deliberately aim to be provocative (er, well, maybe sometimes) but if someone disagrees that's fine, let's discuss the point and maybe we can both learn something new.

The final reason is that we should be able to be ourselves, in all circumstances, should we wish it. If ever a Big Brother scenario comes to be it will surely involve our own compliance at some level. It may loom over all our shoulders sometimes, so turn around and beat it over the head with your keyboard. You need not be anonymous...

Stand up, speak out, be yourself - when you want to or need to.
Be Excellent to each other! - all the time.