Agreed, Pelican. As a former public servant myself, I am aware that even after having left the organisation, the Official Secrets Act still applies. However, there are people here I would really rather not know my identity. As an example, CJ Morgan was 'stalked' by Ludwig just recently.

Suzeonline
Until Cornflower has sprayed you with her venom, you have not really been making a difference. The more you irritate her, the more you know you are on the right track.

Cheers

Forrest
"Collectively, that would make us foruminifera, would it not?"

Are you likening us to aemoeba? :)

Grim I see exactly what you're saying and I think you're right about courage in anonymity.

I am quite sure the sociopathy we sometimes see is quite real - just interesting to think about how it's hidden for every day purposes. IRL some of our loudest misogynists are prolly really meek and henpecked; I might be a brothel madam, one never knows :)

In at least one of my roles though I'm a public servant so anonymity works for me, just as Pelican says, though I still have to be careful that I don't give out information that could make someone else recognizable.

I don't like the social networking sites because they don't give much of a look beneath the veneer - the social 'niceties' carry on as usual - blah; it's not for me. Too RL.

"In at least one of my roles though I'm a public servant so anonymity works for me, just as Pelican says, though I still have to be careful that I don't give out information that could make someone else recognizable."

Ditto Pynchme. I am not a public servant anymore - gave it up a while ago, but disclosure of information and privacy of individuals still applies.

*As an example, CJ Morgan was 'stalked' by Ludwig just recently.*

Oh what nonsense! That was hardly stalking lol. More like CJ having
an anxiety attack over nothing. His mind was seemingly the problem,
not Ludwig.

IMHO the benefit of nicks is that people are more apt to say what
they really think, rather then the impression that they are trying
to give society, which can be quite different. Take a politician
for instance. He has to preach the party line in public, he can't
say what he really thinks. On a forum like OLO, he/she can.

In the mid 90s, there was a crazy programme called Freetel on the net.
I became the resident shrink on there for quite a few people, mainly
Canadians and Americans. There were few Aussies on the net in those
days. One of the reasons was that I was simply so far away from their
circle of daily life. If they told their deepest problems to their
best friend, she might well tell her friend and so on. So people
sometimes have real problems finding somebody that they can confide in.
In the US, they then commonly hire a shrink, but they are not
cheap.

So I find that there are two sides to the net. Yes, somebody like
Pynchme, could well be a brothel madam :), but eventually the truth
will likely come out, as eventually they will contradict themselves.
People can usually only remember the lies that they told and to whom,
for so long.

More likely people commonly use the net to say what they really think,
if they can do it without it affecting their standing in
society, friendships and relationships.

But a site like OLO will always only have limited appeal, because
the majority of the population are not focussed on THE world, they
focus on THEIR world, their family, their friends, their footy team
etc. A huge number are simply not interested in most issues
beyond that.

Fractelle/Severin, "Suzeonline, Until Cornflower has sprayed you with her venom, you have not really been making a difference. The more you irritate her, the more you know you are on the right track."

There you go inventing things again. Your nose will be a metre long if you keep it up.

Suzeonline made certain remarks about another poster and I challenged her for living in a glass house while throwing stones.

Below is my comment and I have also given the link:

"Six of one, half dozen of the other.

How is 'HTFU' any worse than calling a person 'septic', relating him to pus, putrefaction and sewage?

Likewise, when a women refers to a male adversary as a 'little' man there are several unflattering interpretations, all meant with malice aforethought."

http://forum.onlineopinion.com.au/thread.asp?discussion=3480&page=9