jsp said:
What would be the reasonable arguments for these people not to remain anonymous?
Anonymity seems like a funny default to have to argue against, but I'll try.
For people like myself, who aren't regulars in the pool industry/community, there really aren't any added advantages. Just risks.
First, other than perhaps Fast Larry who got bopped in the nose, I've never heard of anybody having any reason to regret posting under their own names on these forums. I've met in person perhaps two hundred people who post here or on RSB. Unless there's something very unusual about you, there's really nothing that exciting about the fact that this pool comment was made by an actual person with an actual address. If all you want to do is find a name and an associated address, pick up a phone book. There are gazillions of them. If you're hiding from someone or something, that's different. So I think the "risk" you speak of is exaggerated.
As to what do
you benefit? Well that's kind of subjective. Maybe it doesn't matter at all to you. But I find it kind of refreshing and even honorable that I stand behind what I say, that I'm accountable for what I've said in the past, that I say what I mean and mean what I say, that you know who you're talking to.
I would feel a little cheap being anonymous. It just smells a little too much to me like "Bill," who stops at the happy-ending massage parlor on his way home from work, or "Mary," who calls her insurance company anonymously to find out how
not to word her description of her complaints to jeopardize coverage.
BTW, I was kidding with my previous post. My first name is Joe. Why exactly would anyone want/need my last name?
I know your name is Joe, which brings up another point. I know your name is Joe because you once corrected me when I called you Jim. Apparently all I internalized when I read your initials was
the guy who uses three initials that starts with j. You're jsp. There's another poster , jal, whose name is Jim. When I called you Jim, it was because I confused you with jal. So for a long time all your opinions and views I interpreted in the context of someone who had posted all of jal's stuff. It painted an incorrect picture of you.
Finally, you asked what benefit is it to
you to stand behind your words. That's a fine thing to ask, but it's not the only thing to ask. Another important question in what benefit is it to the group? We're not just here to take; we're here to give and take. This is a valuable forum precisely because of the ethic of giving that so many here have.
I recognize that when somebody posts over and over again with the same name, even a goofy made-up name, that eventually the person develops a personality and a history. I agree it really doesn't matter at this point when interaction with, for instance Smorgassbored, what his real name is.
But here are two things to consider.
(1) When new people come, they are much less likely to use their real name if they see other people are not using a name. Even though some of those other people might be fine upstanding contributors, the new people don't know that. Many of the new people feel free to do drive-by shootings, to create new rabble rouser identities, and so forth. I think they would be less likely to do this if there didn't seem like a culture of anonymity ion the first place.
(2) A poster will develop into a respected voice faster if he has a name/identity that are easy to remember.
Joe Smith, a room owner from New England,
John Jones, a first-year league player from Omaha,
Bill Olson, an older fella who used to travel around and play during the 1970s
Even if IRACKEMDUDE points out some some relevant information at some time, it's really hard to remember it or to put the words in any kind of context.
Finally, fake names are something people use all the time in chat rooms. Those are really more about socializing with people with like interests. It really doesn't matter what the content is, so long as people are having fun at the moment. This place, on the other hand, is a searchable, archived on-topic discussion. Sure it's social too, but the content matters here. I think people hiding behind fake names encourages the chat-room mentality of new posters who don't know any better.
