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Subject:Re: Anon and other list restrictions From:Cathy Quinones <quinones -at- MINDSPRING -dot- COM> Date:Thu, 21 Sep 1995 23:11:52 GMT
In message <9509202146 -dot- AA01745 -at- edsvcs -dot- switch -dot- rockwell -dot- com> - Nora Merhar
<merhar -at- alena -dot- ucc -dot- okstate -dot- edu> writes:
:>
:>I really don't see any reason why anyone would need to post anonymously to
this
:>list. It's not as if we're discussing our sex lives, or bitching about the
:>companies we work for. In the year or so I've been on this list, I've never
:>seen anything that I thought would get anyone into trouble.
I can see why at some point it MAY be useful to be able to post anonymously.
For example, if a person is upset about work conditions and would like to get
reality check without having their identity known because they fear for
their job security. One can argue that they should be discussing this stuff
with their friends, in private... but a big plus of this medium is that you
can get input from people all over the place. For someone without a network
of trusted buddies that are also in the business, posting here can be a huge
bonus.
:>I have also heard that "you shouldn't put anything in e-mail that you
wouldn't
:>write on a postcard." Even if you're posting anonymously, if someone is
:>determined enough, I expect they can find you.
I'm sure somebody, somewhere, has the tools to get the information BUT (back
to my legit-use example above), I doubt one's office mate or boss or
political rival :) is going to be able to track the message back to the
source.
:>I find anonymous postings annoying, and am suspicious of them. If you ask a
:>question on this list and post anonymously, you won't get an answer from me.
I 100% agree with you here, in particular when the subject involved is
discussing matters of personal opinion rather than facts.
I've spent *many* hours reading newsgroups and I agree that the vast majority
of anonymous posts ARE bogus. You can tell by the content of the message:
most are either flames or flame-bait. There's the rare few that are legit,
and what you get usually is a short explanation of why the person is posting
anonymously, and otherwise, you see a very polite, nicely written message
(usually a "sketch" of the situation, not a 50 page screenplay). What
usually happens in these cases is that the original poster, having located
people willing to give him/her input, moves the discussion to private
e-mail. In these cases, the system works and everyone is happy.
The anonymous posting system was obviously designed for such nice people :),
not for the other morons that abuse it!, but the same argument has been made
about the rest of the electronic communication platform.
==============================================================
Cathy Quinones Poicephalus rule!!
quinones -at- mindspring -dot- com %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% http://www.mindspring.com/~mintz/coverpg.html = Bird Care Info
