Interesting People mailing list archives
Re "The Real Name Fallacy"
From: "Dave Farber" <dave () farber net>
Date: Mon, 09 Jan 2017 09:34:43 +0000
---------- Forwarded message --------- From Date: Mon, Jan 9, 2017 at 3:52 AM Subject: Re: [IP] Re "The Real Name Fallacy" To: <dave () farber net> [Dave - this is for IP list - please remove my real name if you decide to publish it]. The only thing the requirement for real names in social networks produces is an enormous chilling effect on the writing by exactly the category of people we would all want to read and learn from: smart, aware of the realities of life, having opinions of their own, and desiring to talk about things which actually matter rather than engage in verbal mutual grooming. Smart - because smart people are interested in big and often controversial issues. Meaningless chatter about celebrity antics and greatness of Burning Man is for dullards. Only a person totally oblivious to how corporate business works uses his real name to discuss anything remotely politically sensitive on-line. The rest of us understands very well that the first thing an HR dept does upon receiving a qualified resume is on-line search to see any dirt (in the eyes of the HR drone) which may justify tossing the resume into trash can. In many cases this "vetting" could be totally illegal, but the law is also totally unenforceable here. Besides "I was rejected because lady in HR disliked my joke about cats" isn't going to impress the judge. Same goes for the people searching dirt on their opponents in corporate political games, etc. No one who has any awareness of the reality would want to conflate personal with professional. Now, the mindless parrots merely regurgitating approved blabber from the mainstream press are probably reasonably safe. They also are absolutely boring. Thank you, I can read WaPo myself. The only interesting speech is by those who have to say something new or different and have mind of their own. Finally... nobody cares about pictures of cats, vacation photos, or stories about how great the last party was. It's content-free, it is nothing more than mutual grooming. I like yours, you like mine. Nothing wrong with that, but, please, I have a mind which needs something more complicated than simian camaraderie. The obvious and observable result is terrifying dullness of social networks - and willing and widespread disrespect of the "real names only" policies by virtually everyone whose words I may be interested in reading (and who haven't yet secured an unassailable position of a tenured professor or a housewife). And, yes, I'm one of those who got banned by Facebook for not using my real name. I consider it beneath myself to use Photoshop to bypass the idiotically easy identity check FB requires, so I'm not coming back to that platform, ever. Yours, A guy who helped to destroy nuclear armed evil empire, built first ISP in a big chunk of the planet, ran a team which made a Unix clone way before Linus T. became a student, invented the only practical way to switch packets at Tbps speeds, etc, and engaged in other stuff I'm not willing to ever mention anywhere close to my real name. ------------------------------------------- Archives: https://www.listbox.com/member/archive/247/=now RSS Feed: https://www.listbox.com/member/archive/rss/247/18849915-ae8fa580 Modify Your Subscription: https://www.listbox.com/member/?member_id=18849915&id_secret=18849915-aa268125 Unsubscribe Now: https://www.listbox.com/unsubscribe/?member_id=18849915&id_secret=18849915-32545cb4&post_id=20170109043504:E2E35536-D64E-11E6-A0D5-D584BDDDB970 Powered by Listbox: http://www.listbox.com
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- "The Real Name Fallacy" Dave Farber (Jan 07)
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- Re "The Real Name Fallacy" Dave Farber (Jan 07)
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- Re "The Real Name Fallacy" Dave Farber (Jan 09)
- Re "The Real Name Fallacy" Dave Farber (Jan 07)
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