Should Anonymity be allowed on the board?

[Mr. Mitt]

I'm glad that it has helped you in your business, Barry, I truly am. I'm just not sure about my case, though. I see a greater chance of it adversely affecting me than helping. I like the fact that we have a choice.

[barrysloate]

Exactly.

[Jay Wolt]

Anonymity doesn't bother on this board, good hobby content keeps me coming back,
regardless if I know who the poster is.
I place my name on each post, so I won't forget who I am.

[Bob Lemke]

Several have expressed perfectly valid reasons for not wanting their name to be associated with their presence on this forum. Unfortunately, there are others whose preference for anonymity is more about avoiding accountability for their words than anything else.

Regardless, I think this forum has always operated fairly well with Leon being the arbiter of when anonymity becomes malevolent and I trust him to continue to do so, especially now that he has more information on all registered users.

I know when I'm assessing the credibility of any post, a person whose name is right out front gets bonus points.

[jmk59]

No. Sort of. I thought the policy of the old board was simply perfect. Good concept and good execution. You can be anonymous and happily read and post and do whatever you want in total privacy, until you decide you want to post something controversial or inflammatory.

That means that anonymity is completely within the control of the member. Want to be anonymous forever? You can. But not if you want to be confrontational. I think that's a fair tradeoff.

One of the big knocks on chat boards is that anyone can be brave from behind a keyboard. Having to put your name down is just one small thing that says you have to be willing to stand by your controversial or slamming comments. I don't think that's too much to ask. It's kind of a way of life for me.

And it is so easy to defeat search engines, I can't see how that can be a factor at all. Jo@nn K!ine. As to the very good point about OTHER people using your name in inflammatory posts, that would be easily addressed by a board rule - simple to understand and enforce - that says you cannot use a first and last name in a post. Or at least not without the engine-defeating mechanisms.

I think the registration process that requires valid info is a good improvement in terms of overall security. But I also think the board lost something when that became enough.

So ... how do I vote? Not quite 'no'. Not quite OK to put info in Profile area - why can't someone that posts only non-controversially have the option to stay completely anonymous?

Guess I'll vote 'no' as my closest choice.

J.o.a.n.n

[Matt]

Originally Posted by jmk59

No. Sort of. I thought the policy of the old board was simply perfect. Good concept and good execution. You can be anonymous and happily read and post and do whatever you want in total privacy, until you decide you want to post something controversial or inflammatory.

That means that anonymity is completely within the control of the member. Want to be anonymous forever? You can.

Actually, if I recall correctly, on the old board even if you wanted to be confrontational, you didn't have to expose your name to anyone other then Leon. On the new forum, no one's name is unknown to Leon.

[jmk59]

Matt,

I think on the old board there were some exceptions, but it was largely "put your full name by your posts unless you are well known". I think there were some occasions/reasons where Leon would be okay with a person that requested only Leon to have the info, but the predominant practice was to require full name unless you were known.

I do believe that was better than having everybody on a only-Leon-needs-to-know basis.

J

[wonkaticket]

Originally Posted by Bob Lemke

Unfortunately, there are others whose preference for anonymity is more about avoiding accountability for their words than anything else.

I know when I'm assessing the credibility of any post, a person whose name is right out front gets bonus points.

Bob I really hope that isn't directed towards Jerry or I in reagards to the Stall & Dean thread.

As it's known by Leon and most others who we are plus you can always contact me directly as my email is right next to my name as I'm sure Jerry's is as well if you have issue with what we posted etc.

Cheers,

John

[Peter_Spaeth]

I voted no. Personally, I don't like it when I don't know who people are.

[cfc1909]

Went out tonight and missed a good bit.
I usually stand strong but good points were made that changed my mind. This is America and you should have your choice. Leon, keep the trolls in check. Nothging personal-all 20 of them.

JR cfc1909

[drc]

Tell me if this would solve the problem:

Unless I am mistaken, one's personal page info is only available to those who are registered and signed in (I assume would not show up in a google search). When you are not signed in as a member, you can't access anyone's personal page, not even your own. Thus, one could put his or her name on that page and it would be viewable only to fellow registered members (If I am correct). To find out what real legal name belongs to a poster's nickname, a signed in member would simply have to click on the poster's link. Thus, the poster's name would be cloaked from the the outside world of googlers, yahooers and nefarious lurkers, yet there would be no anonymity within the membership.

[Leon]

Fred- Some statistics are not available on this board as they were the old one. The number of threads started is about the same or maybe a little more. I actually think participation is up just a little. I have had dozens of people that have registered that said they were just a lurker before but now will be a participant.

David- Yes, it is only our members, who aren't banned, who get access to certain things. The BST threads and user profiles are among them. Lurkers can still see the general forum threads though. I think the way it is set up now is a pretty good system. Membership does have it's privileges..I do feel the new board is safer than the old one...take care

[Doug]

Originally Posted by drc

one could put his or her name on that page and it would be viewable only to fellow registered members (If I am correct). To find out what real legal name belongs to a poster's nickname, a signed in member would simply have to click on the poster's link. Thus, the poster's name would be cloaked from the the outside world of googlers, yahooers and nefarious lurkers, yet there would be no anonymity within the membership.

That's a good idea. Maybe it could be required for people to fill out the "real name" section of their profile so everyone on the board can have the ability know who a poster is, but at the same time it would protect the people that want to be anonymous outside of the board from popping up on search engines.

[T206Collector]

Originally Posted by Mr. Mitt

I'm glad that it has helped you in your business, Barry, I truly am. I'm just not sure about my case, though. I see a greater chance of it adversely affecting me than helping. I like the fact that we have a choice.

I can actually see very little good coming from using a real name on a public internet chatboard unless it also helps support one's business that also contains a real name.