Well here's an issue:
It strikes me that the web affords you the possibility of acting in an entirely anonymous way in all sorts of areas. I have had several experiences of people on message boards speaking anonymously in a way that is extremely offensive and would be unacceptable if they were a face and/or a name. Check out "ship of fools" if you want to see what I mean.
It feels kinda wrong to me. I just think that you should be accountable for your words as well as your actions. And online, you aren't a character in a story - you are a real actor, no matter how virtual your identity. Your words and deeds still attach to you in some way (I believe). There isn't a suspension of the ethical in the virtual realm - or is there?
There are of course people who use pseudonyms more like nicknames, and their identities are easily traceable if anyone should care.
So, what ethical parameters could there be for using anonymity? If any?
(a thought: virtual interaction has the same moral temptation as overseas travel - if you go somewhere where no-one knows you, then you can behave in a way that those who know you wouldn't recognise as true to you as they know you... it feels like a place without consequences.)
7 comments:
Here, here! Well said! I agree with you—I reckon that people ought to behave in the virtual world as if they would in real life around real people.
That said, however, for some reason it is easier to miscommunicate in the written form—CAPITALS COME ACROSS AS IF SOMEONE IS ANGRY AND IS YELLING, when in fact they might not be. :)
I wonder if there needs to be some sort of concept of appropriate disclosure online; there are people who hide everything and invent a persona for themselves (there is a very famous Canadian Christian blogger who has never revealed his/her gender because he/she doesn't want the bias associated with gender) and there are other who disclose too much (I read a Malaysian Christian blogger who is sometimes a little too explicit about her struggles with sexual temptation). On the one hand, you want to come across as being yourself; on the other hand, you don't want nasty unscrupulous people coming after you, cleaning out your bank accounts and hacking into your blog.
Funny, thinking about this reminds me of this really weird experience I had a couple of years ago. I was living in residential college while at Uni and I made friends with a nice American girl from the US. A couple of years later I got an email from her sister thanking me for some feedback I had given her about a piece of writing she had done. The thing is, I had never laid eyes on it and the email she showed me, which I was supposed to have written, was something which I am sure I had never penned—*ahem—keyboarded in my life!!
/Karen/
Yes indeed! I really dislike anonymous commenters. It takes no effort at all to put in a name at the end. It can even be a pseudonym.
But the anon entries get up my craw for some reason. It is like the person is showing utter contempt for you. I must admit, I tend to respond pretty aggressively to anonymous attacks...
By the way Karen, what is going on with your blog? It's been "Out of Service" for about 2 days...
I suppose it does matter why one is using a pseudonym. Do we intend to hide behind it to do horrid acts/say malicious things we wouldn't otherwise do/say in broad daylight in our own name? Are we just shy (think: girl expressing admiration for or encouraging a boy she likes)?
Believe it or not, the decision to use a pseudonym on my part was for the sake of godliness! So as not to clog up the comments section, the thinking on that is here.
Cheers.
yes, i think the why is of course relevant.
I just think how different this blog might be if I went anonymous!
People (including me) blog anonymously for many reasons. One main reason is employment. My own employment contract is such that I can be fired for something I say or do outside of work hours. Them's the breaks. So I keep a tight reign. Another is to protect family and friends, not just from the nutters. Family and friends also deserve some privacy and can start their own blog if they care to.
J Starr (who has commented here anonymously)
Yeah, my blog was having server troubles :(
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