Anonymity

I have decided to change my username because Dogmafood is on the one hand ambiguous and on the other too negative. Also somewhat insulting to my dog. I thought that I should make a point of it for clarity's sake even though my avatar will probably do a better job of it.Obviously, I decided to go with Prototypical but I was wondering why I didn't just use my real name. It seems to take away from your credibility if you are unwilling to identify yourself. What are we trying to hide? Is it just the crazies who might hunt you down and poison your dog or is there some other liberating factor to being anonymous?I really try not to say anything here that I would not say to someone's face but is that common or exceptional? Would you say anything here that you wouldn't say to someone's face?Is communication improved or diminished by anonymity?(Another question. Have you ever seen the word prototypical used before? I see it in the on line dictionaries but I have never seen it used before. I was enjoying the conflict between the idea of a prototype and a typical thing. Unique and common at the same time.)

It probably is a good idea of to stay anonymous if you ever intend to go into politics. Also there are some crazies out there but I'm not going to spend my life in fear of them. I choose not to be anonymous, (GDR are my initials and it is easy enough to find my name and location from my profile). I look at this site as a discussion forum rather than a place to debate and feel that I won't say anything here that I wouldn't be prepared to say in context to my neighbour.I am prepared to stand by my views but at the same time I'm prepared to have my views modified, as has happened frequently as a result of discussions on this forum. (In spite of what my dog thinks I don't know everything. )At any rate thanks to Percy in particular and to everyone else here for a free education.Greg Robinson

I like your take on the word, but many might not take it that way. There are multiple definitions of prototype, but if the one you have in mind is the first version of some new design or device then that's not the way prototypical is usually interpreted. Prototypical is based more upon the "archetype" definition of prototype, the one that implies an original version. For instance, if someone is described as the "prototypical gangster" then it's meant they look like a gangster from the 1930's.AbE: I forgot to add a comment about anonymity. For Facebook style things where all you're doing is posting news and pictures then there's little need for anonymity, but as many Facebook users have discovered if they post anything controversial, there can be a big downside to not having anonymity.I encourage anonymity when discussing anything controversial. Most online discussion board people are normal and harmless, but some are Dennis Markuze, meaning crazy and/or unpredictable.--PercyEdited by Percy, : AbE.

On this forum, and just about every other on the net, giving us your name, address, phone, collar size and boxers/briefs still leaves you anonymous to the majority of us here. We don't know you. We know only the you that you share with us in these messages.As has been mentioned, keeping what anonymity you can on the open web is a good thing since it protects you, not only from most of the crazies, but from yourself. If you say something quite intolerant, ignorant and just plain dumb on here, your neighbor, who is also an active member, does not know it's you and won't be throwing rocks through your window tonight and the next morning your co-worker will not be telling your boss just how danm dense you really are.As for communication? It doesn't matter too much. There is the thought that most people will be more open to a stranger than a known acquaintance so maybe some people are a bit more relaxed in an anonymous discussion. But, your communication style, syntax, mechanics, your ability to express your ideas and have them get from here to there effectively is a part of you no matter if we were high school pals or just avatars on a computer screen.So screw the communications concerns and stay in the shadows hidden behind the curtain like a ninja ghost that can never be seen.[aside]Your anonymity on the web is precarious at best. If someone wants to, no matter how hard you try to hide, they can find you. You have already opened the door by being here. Ninja Ghost Hunter! We gottcha![/aside]

I would say 'typical gangster' in that context. I guess you could say that something was prototypical in nature if it were actually a prototype but I have never seen it used. Anyway. I guess that I can see that in principal but I am inclined to agree with GDR and try not to adjust my behaviour according to my fears. Still, I guess it makes sense to be pragmatic.

This was my point. Being anonymous encourages some to say things that they would not otherwise say. If it helps them to overcome some shyness then it is a good thing but if it encourages them to be bigots then perhaps it is not such a good thing. I suppose that you can not shoot the bigots down if they don't expose themselves.I guess that on balance it is better to get the honest opinions out there unencumbered by any sense of fear or retribution. The downside is that some people also lose any sense of responsibility for their words. Edited by Prototypical, : spEdited by Prototypical, : more sp

On another forum - where I have a completely different identity, by the way - I got a private message from another member asking if I was Canadian. (I may have made a reference to Tim Hortons.) When I replied yes, he asked if I lived in a province that was easy to draw. I told him it's basically a rectangle. He asked me if I lived in the largest city and I said no, the other one.So does he.Ever since then, whenever I'm at a public computer, I look at the person next to me and wonder if it's him. I keep telling religious people that the message is more important than the messenger.(By the way, I like Dogmafood better.)

Wait, I have a responsibility for my words here?

I am anonymous and yet share my altar egos with certain people to let them see my Phat life here at evc, as well as my thugpreacha life on Blog TV. the only ones who know me by my birth name are those in Denver whom I interact with on a time and place shared basis. As for you guys...well...we still love each other in an internet sorta way...Just not in the same place.

Yes. Every alias has the same responsibility as the original.The words we speak are dynamic and powerful or silly and irrelevant...depending what we believe and live and practice.Why should I be Jimmy Swaggart by day and Herbert the Pervert by night? Herbert should be as responsible as Jimmy.

Right, sure, if I do something illegal here then they'd be coming for me personally.But that's not really what I meant. I don't see there being any implications from me posting that I would be responsible for.He was talking about bigotry. If I proclaim some utter hatred for Canadians, or whatever, should anybody really give a fuck?We had that blowout here when homosexuals were used in a comparison and quite a few people got mad about it. It all seemed unwarranted to me.And with all the "nigger-faggot" shit I see on youtube, I just can't really take the anonymous internet seriously:

I'm not trying to hide anything. I doubt many of us are.
I'm certainly not worried about "the crazies."
I am, however, worried about the smart buggers that try to make a buck wherever they can. They can (and some do) troll the internet for personal information to do whatever they can with it... even if it's as simple as selling it to advertisers for spam purposes.Think of it as not wearing a jacket with your social security number and bank account number printed on the back.
There are lots of people that will take advantage of others whenever they can. Those are the ones I'm afraid of. The first defense against them is anonymity. Don't rattle the cages, and the rats won't scurry about.It may not even be yourself you need to worry about. Someone interested in a past relationship of yours, or a friend or family member... may search for your name in order to gain information about whoever they're interested in.Other liberating factors? I think it can be kinda cool. Then again, sometimes I also like to pretend that I'm a ninja... so take my ideas with the required level of salt I would guess it's pretty common. No. ...and yes.
"No" in the sense that I would say the sames things here as I would to anyone else if I were having such a discussion with them.
"Yes" in the sense that many times it is not very... polite... to start up a religious conversation with other people. Many folks just don't want to talk about these things, it makes them feel uncomfortable... They may feel like they're "supposed" to have answers for such things, but know that they don't and don't like being reminded of that. Here, this is what we talk about. Therefore, anyone that is online at this forum is ready and willing to talk about such things. In that sense... I'm more free in my religous questions and conversation initiations than I am when I'm away from this forum. But that's more a sense of common agreement of the topic at hand... not really an anonymous sort of thing. Meh. I'm sure it's different for different people.
For me? It doesn't make much of a difference.
My guess about "on average"? I would say that "quantity of information" is increased... but perhaps "communication" is about the same. I'm with Percy on this one.
No, I haven't seen it used very often.
When I saw it though (without looking up the actual definition) I was thinking of "attributes which are associated with prototypes." Things such as first attempt, probably a bit clunky, probably testing some cool new features, unrefined but excitingly new... that sort of thing.

Was that a Freudian slip?

I agree with that.

I use my name because I am not worried about anonymity and the very nature of online discussions lends itself to a certain amount of anonymity anyways. Who says I am who I say I am? Edited by DBlevins, : Last sentence missed "I say." Sounded 'crazy' without it.