Why there are no Pseudonyms on the Way Corps Site

[John Richeson]

These closing comments by Maureen Dowd in this article she wrote for the NY Times called "The Blond and the Blogger" summarizes my thinking. It was a hard decision to make in not allowing pseudonyms. It is unusual on most sites but I feel it was the right thing to do based on my experiences on other all pseudonym sites. Maureen Dowd writes: The Internet was supposed to be the prolix paradise where there would be no more gatekeepers and everyone would finally have their way. We would express ourselves freely at any level high or low, with no inhibition. Yet in the infinite realm of truth-telling, many want to hide. Who are these people prepared to tell you what they think but not who they are? What is the mentality that lets them get in our face while wearing a mask? Shredding somebody's character before the entire world and not being held accountable seems like the perfect sting. Pseudonyms have a noble history. Revolutionaries in France, American Founding Fathers and Soviet dissidents used them. The great poet Fernando Pessoa used heteronyms to write in different styles and even to review the work composed under his other names. As Hugo Black wrote in 1960, "It is plain that anonymity has sometimes been assumed for the most constructive purposes." But on the Internet, it's often less about being constructive and more about being cowardly.

[John Richeson]

The site is only visible to logged in members with the exception of the home page.

Joe, if you are reading this....sorry but I tried the more open settings that the entire site is visible to non members with the exception of adding comments or posts as we talked about. But after a week of trying that out I decided against it. Too much personal information is viewable.

So as it stands now this site is only visible to registered members with the exception of viewing the home page. When a person clicks on anything it asks for a user name and password.

[Rhys Miller]

I agree that this site works best when we know who we're talking to. And with that real name policy, it's also important that the forums are only visible to logged in members.

[Joe Kriston]

Linda, I know who Wally Cox is and I, ummm, didn't have to ask my mom or dad....Didn't he have an old computer fall in love with him on one of those One Step Beyond episodes?....

I think people often exercise the same behaviour under the mask of anonymity that they do surrounded by two tons of steel during rush hour traffic...You !@#$#^$#% #$%%^^OFF!----as they swerve onto the exit ramp...Nothing wrong with something bringing out the little kid in all of us----although some masks can bring out the rotten little punk in all of us....

[Linda Zinn]

Hi John:

I'm glad you didn't make this site anonymous. Over the last couple decades, I've seen countless times how people are much more aggressive, much more rude, much more harsh on the Internet than they would ever be in a face-to-face conversation. Using real names makes people more accountable for their words.

One factor, though, that makes it practical not to use pseudonyms here is privacy. Because the posts here aren't searchable by anyone who isn't a member, we can feel free to discuss personal issues if we like without worrying that our bosses or prospective bosses or others are reading our private thoughts.

I have a facebook page, which is more public than private and on which I use my real name. However, I don't post anything of a personal nature there. Some things aren't for any old someone on the planet to read. I also use social networking sites for work, but that's a whole different beast.

I have to say there's also a place for anonymity. For me it's not a matter of hiding behind a fake name so I can take cheap shots at people, but a matter of privacy. Of course there will always be those who are Muhammad Ali online and Wally Cox in real life (if anyone reading doesn't know who Wally Cox is, ask your mom or dad). :-) That and the bullying, speculating, and outright lying are the down side of anonymous sites, but that's the price paid for some degree of anonymity on a public site.

So anyway, while I think it's great we aren't anonymous here and I agree that it would be silly to use pseudonyms on a site where people are interested in reconnecting, what's right for this site isn't necessarily right for all sites.

[Janis Lang Johnson]

Ms. Dowd made some valid points. This site is for socializing, true, but on a different level. We all went through something, good , bad or ugly and it made us a team. If I am looking for so and so and all I have to go on is so and so/behind the mask of scooter pie, then I won't ever reconnect with my friend.

Thanks for having us use our real names. I have reconnected with some very dear friends this way.

[John Richeson]

Actually it would be no fun at all on this site, John. It would be kind of silly and would not work. But when this was started 2 years ago social networking was new....ish.

But as you know, there have been other sites with pseudonyms where people prefer to stay hidden and problems ensued. I think those sites are dying a slow death.

If someone is on a social networking site they could in fact choose to stay anonymous and not accept any friend requests and not provide any personal info. It is possible to do. I have see a few on My Space and Facebook.

The context of Maureen Dowd's terriffic summary above was on blog sites I believe where pseudonyms abound and people bash each other to pieces.

Here there is no need for such anonymity. It is easy to hide behind a keyboard and sometimes words can be misconstrued. Sometimes when you meet a person or talk to them on the phone you finally understand a whole new side of them that you can't percieve in the written form.

What I am excited about that is becoming more and more popular especially among young people is video blogging. No hiding there. And you can see the persons emotions and hear their voice. A whole new experience. Almost all laptops sold today have integrated cameras and microphones in them. Skype and many other programs make it easy to record video and upload to You Tube or video blog sites.



I'll do one here some day. I would love to do some video interviews of some people on this site. Especially California guitar players. They are the coolest.

[John and Janet Ruiz]

Well, since this is a social networking site, it would be counter productive if no one knew who anyone else was.

Ya think?

This works well, John. Keep at it.

[John Richeson]

Nice comparison George. It was good talking to you recently on the phone. Looking forward to meeting you in person one of these days.

Oh, and say hi to the Graniero's for us when you see them again.

[George M. Hendrix]

John,
It is my humble opinion that you have made the wisest decision in not allowing pseudonyms.
It is also my humble opinion that one would not need a pseudonym on this site, unless one was hiding something or hiding from something or someone...in which case maybe they are in the wrong place.
If there is nothing to hide, then why hide behind a pseudonym?
I think that not "cloaking" one's identity goes along with 2 Corinthians 8:21
Providing for honest things, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men. KJV

Thanks for keeping it "real."

Love and blessings!
George