Trilight Zone

[trihub]

Source: http://www.halfwaytoconcord.com

Esther Dyson recent equated Internet anonymity with abortion. It may be a right, but should be seldom used. The long time observer and tech investor initially thought anonymity was cool but now believes it invites bad behavior:

“It’s like a lot of things. I’m pro choice, but I think abortion is an unfortunate thing. I think the same thing about anonymity: Everybody should have the right to it, but it’s not something one wants to encourage. And that’s not weasel words, that’s the reality of it.

“There are two big things: First, I was a much bigger fan of anonymity then than I am now. I thought it was cool. And it is, but it turns out anonymity really encourages bad behavior. I’m not in favor of the government tracking everybody and so forth, [but] at least persistent pseudonyms and communities and stuff like that makes everything a nicer place.”

My take on all of this as a blog publisher and comment moderator has remained the same since 1984 when I first bought an original 128Kb Macintosh, laser printer, and 800-baud Hayes modem. My first online experience was the online community at The Well. In the spirit of Berkeley Free speech, members were encouraged to tell it like it is (was). Yet, a simple caveat came with that freedom — own your words.

Many defend anonymity citing the writers of the Federalist papers, not that the authors were truly anonymous. In fact, many of the great works of the 16th and 17th centuries including works of Voltaire and Rousseau and others were published anonymously for fear of crown or church. Still, in this day, I do not find the snarky comments left by anonymous posters anywhere near the caliber of Immannuel Kant’s anonymous postings, so maybe the anonymity is driven by shame of stupidity and recognition of the worthlessness of the comment than anything else.

Let me posit what I believe to be a better analogy: “Internet Anonymity is addiction to cowardice.” As many addiction therapies describe, many addicts don’t know or deny they have the disease; others will hide it from loved ones, friends and coworkers, and shout slurs in the dark on some blog or other. A few may find a program or meetings that help them learn to live with their disease so they can grow out of their fear, misanthropy, and self-loathing.

Yet, an honored tradition of the model program is anonymity, and rightfully so for fear of stigma and discrimination. Yet, these same programs also offer an opportunity to “come out” to their fellows who suffer the same. Unfortunately, there aren’t many programs where one can stand up and say, “Hi, I’m Bill and I’m a coward.”

So my working policy for anonymity here at Halfway To Concord is this. We accept anonymous articles for publication and comments. Articles must be approved and comments are moderated for the benefit of readers and discussion, not childish emoting. That said, Cowards are welcome here, and I include myself as the chief of all scaredy cats. Just remember, if you can’t own your words, at least make them count.