Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Going on anon

Anonymity's a weird 'un, isn't it?

Seems to me there are 3 types: the good, the bad and the irritating.

The Good.
There are some very good reasons why some people want/need to preserve their anonymity.
Girl With a One Track Mind, for example, who originally set up her blog with the sole intention of writing frankly - and anonymously - about sex.
When she was outed there were huge and hideous implications for every other area of her life as well as that of her family and friends.
Or Zinnia Cyclamen, who writes with such wit, wisdom and warmth re being a humanist funeral celebrant.
Her beautifully written posts give a unique insight into how the grieving process affects different people, but it's obvious she cannot risk any of those involved being identified.
Or the lovely person who donated anonymously to G's fundraising for SOS Africa.
If you're reading this, thank you!

The Bad.
You all know them.
They lurk in the blogosphere seemingly for the sole purpose of spreading poison.
They hide behind a cloak of anonymity with pseudonyms and avatars.
Never mind that some people who have to comment anonymously because they don't have a blog of their own, but still take the trouble to identify themselves (*waves at the chicken*) this lot hide in the shadows and spit vitriol in a way that presumably they would never dare to do if they could be identified.

The Irritating.
Sorry - but this has to include those people who have sent back their reply slips saying they will be coming to FB's barmitzvah but haven't completed the 'name' bit - so I don't know if I need to cater for 2 people or a family of 6! Bah ...

4 comments:

Lily said...

Awwww, thanks Debi!

In a very previous life, many professional incarnations ago, I was an events administrator. One of the first things I learned was that many otherwise intelligent people are congenitally incapable of writing their own names on forms. We didn't have the numbers problem, as it was one form per person, but it quickly became impossible to prepare nametags, intelligent seating plans, etc. I soon learned to send forms out with the names already on them. So next time you plan a barmitzvah...

Debi said...

Hi and welcome, Lily. I can't access your blog and am not quite sure what you're thanking me for - though it's appreciated!

As for next time, yep - I'm living and learning ...

Zinnia Cyclamen said...

aarrgghh that was me - sorry - logging on from someone else's computer and failing to notice, being the technomoron that I am.

Debi said...

Zin - ah, I thought it might have been. Glad to know I'm not the only techy twit in town ...