Anonymity vs Privacy on the Net54baseball

[GoldenAge50s]

LOL Steve---

I just changed it back to Y from Young yesterday per one of Leon's (or someone's) latest posts! Will change back if that decision is made.

(Changed back to Young again, so any future rulings won't matter to me!)

[Jacklitsch]

Originally Posted by GoldenAge50s

LOL Steve---

I just changed it back to Y from Young yesterday per one of Leon's (or someone's) latest posts! Will change back if that decision is made.

(Changed back to Young again, so any future rulings won't matter to me!)

I too am in a holding pattern. Deleted everything yesterday and am just waiting for the final word.

_________________________
Me: Steve Murray

[Leon]

Just to let ya'll know this is something I am thinking about seriously, and have thought about, for the last few days. I know it's easy to say (and I very much appreciate it) "just use your best judgment" but that is what I have had to do too often. That is the reason for the thread; to try to figure a better solution out. Thanks to all who have commented so far. I am listening. regards

[GoldenAge50s]

I just don't think there is an easy way out for Leon short of EVERYONE having to post a real name. If it remains a choice to be anonymous & there is a controversial post, he will have to keep telling folks to post their name.

If, as some have suggested, he give out a name to those that request it if a controversial post is made, then 25 people in the thread are going to want EM's from Leon!

[teetwoohsix]

OK, I fully understand both sides of the coin on this, but one thing I don't get is this:

(ficticious name used for example) *Bob Smith*

Bob's came on the board accusing X of ripping him off, and then goes on a rampage talking trash about a reputable (or non reputable ) auction house, then proceeds to bad mouth and disrespect multiple other board members.

Bob Smith's name is right there under his screen name. Other than Leon banning Bob Smith, what do you now do armed with Bob Smith's real name??

You have the name, but now what?? Do you know who he is all of a sudden?
Or do you still not know him at all? Retaliation? What?

I hope I'm presenting the scenario properly. Any time Leon has had someone disclose their name, I thought "O.K., still have no idea who he is, but O.K."

I fully agree that if someone is accusing someone of something (or any of those types of scenario's) that the person or buisness does have the right to know their names- they may want to sue for slander, or whatever. But I guess I don't get what the fuss is about everyone else having to have the persons info, *unless they are ripping people off*.

Sincerely, Clayton

[mdschulze]

I agree with Clayton's post above. Can a person's true identity really be confirmed upon signing up as a Net54 member? If the answer is "No", then requiring everyone to post their name wouldn't make sense. If a member signs up knowing there is probably a good chance they'll piss someone off, the chances of them disguising their identity increases.

Leon, a decision will have to be made one way or the other on your end... either everyone posts their name or no one is required. I don't see a middle ground that will free up time on your end. If you start setting guidelines to justify when a person should post their real name, you'll find yourself spending more time defining and explaining to people each individual guideline.... my suggestion is to keep it simple.

Whatever decision you make, you'll surely catch some negative feedback.... but once the storm blows over, everything should be fine. This is sort of like being the coach of a team. You may have a handful of parents in the stands who criticize your every move and think they can do a better job than you, but given the chance to volunteer and takeover the team... no one raises their hand. Make your decision, one way or the other, and I'm sure 95% of the members here will back you. Thanks, Mike

[Leon]

So here we are on this rule. It seems obvious to me (and should be to the rest of the board) we will never have 100% agreement as there are too many good reasons to have names be known or not.

I think what I am going to do is leave the rule the same as it is now BUT put in a few more lines at the end of it to try to take me and the other moderators out of the "back against the wall" issue, with mandating so much in each thread. When someone in a thread says "But their name HAS to be in the post" it puts us moderators (mainly me) in the uncomfortable situation of having to be involved too often. Most folks on the board, that know me very well, know my pet peeves and so forth. NO one is going to be able to hide behind a user id, and not be known, if they are making heated or disparaging comments. Hopefully the risk of having your full name exposed, but not mandating it (for the reason above) will be good enough to take care of the issue. Here is what I am proposing. I don't see how it can be made better but am still open to ideas. At the end of the day members will either trust my judgement on the matter or not. As many members have rightfully said, they can post or not...no one is making them do it. regards



"Anonymous, where this board is concerned, implies that you are not known to the moderator or anyone else. That is not permitted on Net54baseball. However, you may remain private on the board; otherwise, as long as your post is not argumentative, controversial, confrontational, accusatorial etc.…For example you can discuss attributes of cards, sets or memorabilia and stay private. You can not say someone is an imbecile, hard to deal with, gave poor service etc…and remain private on the board. In addition to that if your opinion is that you dislike someone, hate them, can’t stand or don’t like anything about them, and you want to tell the world about it on Net54baseball, then your full name will need to be in your post. The moderator may put the posters name on the board or delete their posts, at his sole discretion, when this rule is not adhered to. *Heated debates will require first and last names to be known, and made public, on the board. Contact information will be given out for legal reasons or under extraordinary circumstances at the discretion of the moderator. **The moderator has the authority to not require full name disclosure at his discretion, especially for well known members. This does NOT mean members can hide behind a user id on the board. Please be aware that your full name may be made public or given to participants privately."

[Big Six]

In my few months on the board, it's obvious Leon does a wonderful job running Net54...it's also obvious that it can be an overwhelming and thankless job. I've learned so much from reading all the posts and seeing many things I've never seen before...and I am glad to be a part of this community, albeit a small part.

That said, I would really encourage everyone to think before they type and try to put themselves in Leon's shoes...at the end of the day, we all have to be personally responsible for our own actions. We shouldn't have to rely on Leon and the other mods to be our conscience...

[T206Collector]

Originally Posted by teetwoohsix

OK, I fully understand both sides of the coin on this, but one thing I don't get is this:

(ficticious name used for example) *Bob Smith*

Bob's came on the board accusing X of ripping him off, and then goes on a rampage talking trash about a reputable (or non reputable ) auction house, then proceeds to bad mouth and disrespect multiple other board members.

Bob Smith's name is right there under his screen name. Other than Leon banning Bob Smith, what do you now do armed with Bob Smith's real name??

You have the name, but now what?? Do you know who he is all of a sudden?
Or do you still not know him at all? Retaliation? What?

I hope I'm presenting the scenario properly. Any time Leon has had someone disclose their name, I thought "O.K., still have no idea who he is, but O.K."

I fully agree that if someone is accusing someone of something (or any of those types of scenario's) that the person or buisness does have the right to know their names- they may want to sue for slander, or whatever. But I guess I don't get what the fuss is about everyone else having to have the persons info, *unless they are ripping people off*.

Sincerely, Clayton

+1 <--- 100%

The idea that people give a $hit about someone else's real name on an Internet forum is, in my view, heavily based on the view that "if I share my name, then I deserve to know yours, too." But the self-interest of one person to share their names cannot be a fair justification to require another person to share theirs, too.

[Leon]

Originally Posted by T206Collector

+1 <--- 100%

The idea that people give a $hit about someone else's real name on an Internet forum is, in my view, heavily based on the view that "if I share my name, then I deserve to know yours, too." But the self-interest of one person to share their names cannot be a fair justification to require another person to share theirs, too.

I won't be giving names out unless it is called for. Don't get into those arguments/heated discussions and you have nothing to worry about. Otherwise, give me a perfect solution and we will go with it. Just because someone asks for a name doesn't mean I am giving it out. It has to be warranted, imo.

[T206Collector]

Originally Posted by Leon

I won't be giving names out unless it is called for. Don't get into those arguments/heated discussions and you have nothing to worry about. Otherwise, give me a perfect solution and we will go with it. Just because someone asks for a name doesn't mean I am giving it out. It has to be warranted, imo.

Leon,

To be clear, I'm totally comfortable with whatever solution you come up with -- short of requiring me to publicly post my name anywhere on the internet. I have simply never understood why anyone thinks putting their name out there is a good idea in any context. Or why anyone trusts that the names people do post are at all accurate -- or even relevant to any possible conversation.

So what if T205Trader calls me an a$$hole. What good does it do me to know his real name is Joe Smith? How would I know that's his real name anyway.

Best I can tell is people take it personally because they posted their own real names. But to me, that problem lies with the person who went public -- not T205Trader.