Sunday, February 10, 2008

A Cloak Of Anonymity

The internet is a wonderful thing. You can learn just about anything you want. You can make friends all across the world,all without leaving your house. There is another wonderful thing about the internet. You can be anyone you want. I could claim to be a 22 year old super-model and as long as you don't know me and I use a fake name you would never know. On the Captain Comics board a lot of people go by aliases. I used to go by the name Jinxo. That can be fun and it goes well with comic books where almost everyone has a secret identity.

There is a dark side to that anonymity as well. If no one knows who you are you can make the most outrageous claims and no one knows who you are. If I call myself Snydley Whiplash and question your heritage or your sexuality there is nothing you can do to stop me. I could post things where your friends and relatives could read them, and your only hope of stopping me would be that the forum has a moderator that can block me. Even then there are ways around that. You can go to another computer, call yourself Vandal Savage, and start the process all over. One of the things I enjoy most about the Captains board is the moderators are there to put out the fires before they start. They issue warnings and will block as a last resort. We do occasionally have heated discussions on the board, but they stick with the facts, no personal attacks are allowed.

On my last post I posted the sentence "Bill Clinton, Michael Vick, and Scott Peterson all initially proclaimed their innocence, only to be proven guilty." Someone using the nom de plume A Voice Of Sanity took me to task for daring to call Scott Peterson guilty. I was informed he was never proved guilty. I want to make clear now, what I am talking about has nothing to do with Scott Peterson. I look to get a response from this person and I am not arguing his guilt. What I am talking about is this person is making these claims anonymously. No name is given, no age, or no sex. Anyone can hide under these conditions. If you truly believe this why the hiding? Let your voice be heard. The signers of the Declaration Of Independence wanted King George to know who they were. They risked execution for treason by putting their names there. Newspapers will not print a letter if you don't sign it. They may print a letter and withhold your name but it has to be signed.

This next paragraph is directed to A Voice Of Sanity. Why the secrecy? Why not let us in on who you are. I may disagree with you, but with your name out there I will admire you for standing so firm for your beliefs. Without the name, I will simply ignore you. When I read your comment I immediately knew that I had run into you before. You got into a debate with my friend Alexandra Kitty, when she made mention of Laci Peterson in her blog. I responded to that post congratulating Alexandra on her patience in dealing with you. Alexandra tried to reason with you. She is much more gracious than I am. I will simply ignore you. I read a little of your blog and came to the conclusion you need to quit obsessing with Scott Peterson so much. Take a trip, read a book, see a movie, do something else. You probably should get your blood pressure checked, to. If you get so bent out shape over a small reference to Scott Peterson in a blog that is only read by a handful of people, you are probably on the verge of a stroke.

The countdown has reached 4 and no more days at Taco Bell until I get back. When I return I will only be working on Wednesdays and Saturdays.

4 comments:

Jeff said...

Mmm, Taco Bell.

Now you can just enjoy it like the rest of us!

Jinxo56 said...

Yes, but now I have to pay for it. LOL

A Voice of Sanity said...

You got into a debate with my friend Alexandra Kitty, when she made mention of Laci Peterson in her blog. I responded to that post congratulating Alexandra on her patience in dealing with you. Alexandra tried to reason with you.

No, she didn't. She ignored every one of the salient points I made and wandered off into totally irrelevant comments, none of which went near the actual facts of the case as I stated them. Like too many she proved incapable of arguing logically, preferring her prejudices to real evidence.

As for anonymity, I am currently being stalked and, considering the hatred expressed against Scott Peterson by far too many, hatred they cannot ever justify, I choose to minimize my exposure at this time.

Alexandra Kitty said...

Thanks for the support, Howard. Your kind words are very much appreciated.