Anonymity on the board?

[T206Collector]

If I make a trade with you, you'll learn my name and a mailing address. I've made plenty of deals on here and so many of you all know my real name. I draw the line at being in a fishbowl with a name tag on.

[Lordstan]

Well,
I think both sides have made very good points and I think Leon has found a very happy medium zone. Be any name you like, with very selective name revelations to individuals, not the board as a whole.
For me, I like the anonymity on the day to day posts for many of the reasons already here. While I do think identity theft is more likely at the local store, that doesn't mean we should throw caution to the wind everywhere else. I do think it woud be easier for those famous collectors to participate knowing they don't have to expose themselves.
BUT on the flip side, I do disagree with T206 collector in that people acting like jerks is much more likely with a psuedonym, than with a real name. This is why, knowing who we are talking to when there is a big argument, I feel, is a deterrent to personal attacks.
JMHO
Mark

[Al C.risafulli]

A few years ago, someone that was not a part of my hobby life started asking me questions about things I'd posted on this board. I found that incredibly creepy, since I'd never even told this person that I collected.

When I googled my name, I discovered that my posts here were easily searchable. This person had googled me and apparently felt that the fact that my posts here were public, that gave them the right to insert themselves into this part of my life.

I found that it was pretty easy to prevent that from happening just by sticking a period inbetween two letters of my last name. Now my posts here don't show up in google searches.

At the same time, I like that people know who they're talking with when I'm engaging them in threads here. And I like knowing who I'm talking with as well. This is a small hobby, and we've seen plenty of situations where anonymous posts here turn out to be posts that are driven by an agenda.

I almost always take a post more seriously when I know the name of the person making it.

-Al

[Peter_Spaeth]

I agree with Al dot C, I can't articulate why, but to me it makes a difference knowing who someone really is.

[Section103]

Is it calm enough to do the "my phone number is 867-5309" joke yet?

[FUBAR]

Originally Posted by Section103

Is it calm enough to do the "my phone number is 867-5309" joke yet?

thats means your real id is richard jenny! lol

[Section103]

Originally Posted by FUBAR

thats means your real id is richard jenny! lol

Crap, I didnt think about that!

[bmarlowe1]

Originally Posted by Al C.risafulli

A few years ago, someone that was not a part of my hobby life started asking me questions about things I'd posted on this board. I found that incredibly creepy, since I'd never even told this person that I collected.

When I googled my name, I discovered that my posts here were easily searchable. This person had googled me and apparently felt that the fact that my posts here were public, that gave them the right to insert themselves into this part of my life.

I found that it was pretty easy to prevent that from happening just by sticking a period inbetween two letters of my last name. Now my posts here don't show up in google searches.

At the same time, I like that people know who they're talking with when I'm engaging them in threads here. And I like knowing who I'm talking with as well. This is a small hobby, and we've seen plenty of situations where anonymous posts here turn out to be posts that are driven by an agenda.

I almost always take a post more seriously when I know the name of the person making it.

-Al

The insertion of a "." or a "_" or other character in a name is well-known, and it may not prevent a savvy searcher from finding your posts with a bit of trial and error.