Comments on: Re: My name is not a URL http://chobas.com/blog/2009/03/31/re-my-name-is-not-a-url/ Just another WordPress weblog Mon, 21 May 2012 17:41:57 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v= By: Ben http://chobas.com/blog/2009/03/31/re-my-name-is-not-a-url/comment-page-1/#comment-13314 Ben Tue, 07 Apr 2009 05:43:36 +0000 http://chobas.com/blog/?p=638#comment-13314 I think there may be a bit of truth in both perspectives. In thinking about it in the moments it took for me to finish reading the post to when I start typing out my stream of consciousness, I see the idea as sort of a linear scale (scale isn't the right word, but nonetheless). While there still is a degree of responsibility to a known handle, as in the case of flickr, I think there is even still a higher degree of ownership when your Real Name is on the post you just wrote. People don't have to worry (for now) about their employers tracking down their wordpress blogs or flickr accounts, but they can be accountable for what has their Real Name stamped on it on the internet. Actually, I can attest to this to some degree in my own experiences. I used to participate in some online forums w/ a bunch of other aggies. I went by a username, and only knew the majority of the other users by theirs. I eventually came to meet a good number of them in real life, but that's beside the point. In comparing my "internet personality" between my interactions in those forums, and my interactions on facebook, there is a marked difference. I wasn't a terrible person, but "bigbrother0074" had a different persona than did Ben in real life, and Ben on facebook. It wasn't totally disconnected, though, because I did know some of these people, and I didn't try to hide my true identity (my username on there was linked to my facebook profile). Anyway, I think I made the point I was trying to there... Also, on a related note, way off on the other end of the line, way past flicker and handle-driven services is 4chan. I've never spent any amount of time there, and I don't recommend even googling that, I have come across it a time or two and heard about it enough to understand what its about. It is a discussion-forum type site that has no official user-base or group. Everybody posts under the name . There is literally zero accountability (except in extreme legal terms, I think... but even then, extreme). While that seems to fall outside of what the original article and Thomas' response was really talking about, I think it has some relevance to the discussion. There, I believe users are well-known among themselves. Even though everybody is , they still build up some form of notoriety, and recognition (just not name recognition). I don't know how this is done, but for maybe posting styles, subject matter, and maybe expertise in a subject or something.... or maybe a combination. I think there may be a bit of truth in both perspectives. In thinking about it in the moments it took for me to finish reading the post to when I start typing out my stream of consciousness, I see the idea as sort of a linear scale (scale isn’t the right word, but nonetheless). While there still is a degree of responsibility to a known handle, as in the case of flickr, I think there is even still a higher degree of ownership when your Real Name is on the post you just wrote. People don’t have to worry (for now) about their employers tracking down their wordpress blogs or flickr accounts, but they can be accountable for what has their Real Name stamped on it on the internet. Actually, I can attest to this to some degree in my own experiences. I used to participate in some online forums w/ a bunch of other aggies. I went by a username, and only knew the majority of the other users by theirs. I eventually came to meet a good number of them in real life, but that’s beside the point. In comparing my “internet personality” between my interactions in those forums, and my interactions on facebook, there is a marked difference. I wasn’t a terrible person, but “bigbrother0074″ had a different persona than did Ben in real life, and Ben on facebook. It wasn’t totally disconnected, though, because I did know some of these people, and I didn’t try to hide my true identity (my username on there was linked to my facebook profile). Anyway, I think I made the point I was trying to there…

Also, on a related note, way off on the other end of the line, way past flicker and handle-driven services is 4chan. I’ve never spent any amount of time there, and I don’t recommend even googling that, I have come across it a time or two and heard about it enough to understand what its about. It is a discussion-forum type site that has no official user-base or group. Everybody posts under the name . There is literally zero accountability (except in extreme legal terms, I think… but even then, extreme). While that seems to fall outside of what the original article and Thomas’ response was really talking about, I think it has some relevance to the discussion. There, I believe users are well-known among themselves. Even though everybody is , they still build up some form of notoriety, and recognition (just not name recognition). I don’t know how this is done, but for maybe posting styles, subject matter, and maybe expertise in a subject or something…. or maybe a combination.

]]>