For a time my profile had a link to my personal website. I felt comfortable sharing this with y'all. Incidentally, during that time it would be trivial to find out who I am, in the real world. It's probably still really easy to find out who I am.
I have shared that I go to a boarding school in the Northeast, that my girlfriend is on Hubski (calling her out by username), and have shared videos and pictures of my accomplishments with y'all that put a face to the name. I put a "follow me on Hubski" button on my personal site.
Conversely, I chose a username on Hubski I barely use anywhere else, my Facebook profile is relatively limited as displayed to the public, and at some point in the past month I got rid of the link to my personal site to limit my exposure. I found myself willing to connect my name to my username when I felt that the community was smaller, but found my willingness to do so diminish as the community grew. I know many around the 'ski have connected their names/pennames to their usernames (thenewgreen, _refugee_), and I'm on the fence about doing it again. There are also people whose usernames are simply their first names (mike, steve), but I think I'm the only one on Facebook with my first name.
I stand behind the opinions I post here, the content I post here, and I already have a resume-style website where I connect my accomplishments to very concrete pictures of my face and my actual name. So I'd like to hear your thoughts.
Have you associated your name with your user? Would you consider doing so or continuing to do so in the future, even as our community grows? What do you suggest?
In my opinion, the spectrum of identity as it relates to the Internet is one of the most vexing and fascinating subjects confronting us without us really internalizing it. Sherry Turkle wrote a couple books about it; Jaron Lanier wrote a couple essays. The big problem is that throughout history, the anonymous don't mix with the pseudonymous don't mix with the noteworthy. On the Internet, anonymous people can tweet at Kanye West all day. Combine that with Reddit, where you can go from anonymous to pseudonymous under the exact same conditions; there's no benefit to everyone knowing your handle but the more you participate, the more likely it is to happen. Unfortunately none of us really know how to act and it hurts a lot of people. I'm a weird corner case: my pseudonym became an identity worth defending because I put a lot of me in it. That made it easy to attack, unfortunately. I've always written as if my real world identity would eventually be discovered and I try to be enough myself that I have nothing to be ashamed of. Anything I've said, I'd be comfortable saying in real life. That's not the way a lot of the Internet works, however, and when you have different groups of people operating under different ground rules, someone is going to get caught in the collision. One of the things I like best about Hubski is that it functions on pseudonymity rather than anonymity. We have to know each other somewhat in order to have the conversations we have, and the site dynamics lend themselves to pseudonymous relationships. This is a place that encourages disclosure more than Reddit, 4chan, anywhere like that. It also makes the disagreements cut deeper. I'm pretty good at locking down my identity and I've been doxed successfully at least three times. The stakes are much higher than they've ever been before; I no longer moderate a default because I wasn't 100% certain that my identity wouldn't be threatened. I also know that as a male I have an infinitely easier time on the Internet. Greater Creep Theory is fuckin' rough on the fair sex. I think it's a choice we all have to make as carefully and in as well-considered a fashion as we can: how much of "you" can you risk? Not just here; Hubski is searchable so anything you're saying here, you're saying everywhere. That's the double-edged sword of Hubski - it encourages real social connections on an Internet designed to burn humanity to the ground.
>I'm a weird corner case: my pseudonym became an identity worth defending because I put a lot of me in it Why do you think that this is unique to you?
"Are you that guy from the Warlizard gaming forum?" That guy could just make a new username and move on. So could you. I don't really understand your point here. (Also, you said you modded a default, but I don't know about whatever drama happened to make you reddit famous, if that is important to this discussion)
I still don't understand. There is nothing that would link a new username to the one you have now, if you didn't want it to. Does having a name on reddit give your posts more weight in discussions? Are you too proud of your post history to "give up on it" (not meant to sound snarky)?
This happened. Literally. For eight weeks. Reddit was much smaller then, but it still happened. I know you want to think I don't know what I'm talking about, but I do. And you don't have to listen to me, but I also don't have to talk to you. Yet I am. I walked away from Reddit. Deliberately and with forethought. I came here instead. By then, I'd been nominated for commenter of the year four years running. I'd been bestof'd more than a hundred times. That and a couple bucks will buy you a cup of coffee but the fact of the matter is, my writing style and subject matter is such that even when I wasn't busy being "kleinbl00" I got called out for being "kleinbl00." Believe it or don't. I can't explain it any clearer.Because most people aren't asked "are you kleinbl00?" within 3 days of assuming a new pseudonym.
Well it's a bit clearer now. I've never been part of a small online community where people would be able to identify each other through their writing styles. This subject is quite interesting, though, I appreciate the insight.
I never asked you to confirm this, but I'm pretty sure I caught you on an alt account making a top level comment in an r/askreddit thread. I recognized you by both writing style and story. All I said was, "Hi." (Because reddit is the only other place i use this username.) The user said hi back. So if that was you, we can confirm a little example-in-action right now for the gallery.
I'm extremely careful elsewhere, but here I'm me, 100%. A significant portion of people here already know me personally and have met me multiple times, others can find out easily if they please. I'm not worried about that at all. I used to be extremely careful about my online personas, ensuring that nobody could find out who I am. But I've come to realize it doesn't matter for me personally. I say nothing online I wouldn't say or stand behind in meatspace, and that's probably a result of my extreme caution over the years, but I'd be proud of anything I said in the last decade, or maybe a little embarrassed of how often I post in sports subreddits, but I don't say things that are compromising.
I used to use the same identity across various websites. And kept an online, public journal linked to that same identity/username. Things that happened, in order: People I was friends with, in relationships with, exes would read my journal and despite I never insulted or talked bad about them, they'd somehow take umbrage. I kept my online journal, but separated it from my other online identity, and made that journal extra anonymous. An ex found it, and emailed me saying why was I talking smack about her/him? Thing is, I hadn't, and I asked a couple friends to read my journal post in question, and they said they had no idea what the ex was talking about. Make even further attempts at anonymizing it, and by now I am moving the online journal around from service to service once or twice a year, making private posts older than a year, continually changing user identities, usernames, deliberately seeding misleading info (city, state, gender, and so forth). A dude from high school somehow found it, said dude being one who'd stalked me and when I'd refused his advances he'd ripped into me, calling me a piece of shit. 15 years later, he messages me on Facebook saying he'd shared my private journal with all my high school classmates. Saying it was because he cared, and he wanted all my old high school classmates to know about the rough time I was having. Journal came down. No publicly accessible online journal from that point on. Deleted my Facebook and Twitter accounts soon after. Talking to people online, and despite how security conscious I am, I'd get people saying how they'd researched me, found out info about me. By this point, it was tertiary info, but still enough to concern me. By that point and continuing to now, I deliberately change genders, never say the state or city I'm in, never use the same username twice, different passwords for everything (including any characters I create in online games or MMOs), never post photos that'd reveal personal info, and continually re-read anything I post online to see if anybody'd be able to figure out who I am, which means frequent post-editing, rewriting and deleting things. Relatedly, Hubski is the first online forum in years I've been an active participant, and I know for a fact people'd be able to figure out who I am, find me, from my posts and comments, which means at some point I'll most likely create a new Hubski account, do away with the old, and start anew. And for anyone who thinks they're safe online: I have never encountered someone I've chatted with online who I then wasn't able to find out real name, city, age, schools attended, job, different usernames, etc.
I keep online blogs, but never online journals. I could easily see this happening if you are surrounded by curious people. Hell I am a curious person. If you enter my line of vision and excite that curiosity I could definitely look for and read/skim thru blogs if I could find them. I avoid the online journaling of personal life precisely because of this audience factor.
>People I was friends with, in relationships with, exes would read my journal and despite I never insulted or talked bad about them, they'd somehow take umbrage. It happened multiple times? There's got to be more to this.
I'm kinda lazy about online "security" as it relates to who I am. I share a lot in some ways, and almost nothing in other ways. I bet anyone with half an ounce of energy could "dox" me or come after me in real life if they wanted. I just try not to give them a reason. I know kleinbl00 has had some experience in this arena - some nasty business from the reddit. Perhaps he'd take a minute and share some thoughts/advice on the why and the how of protecting one's self from the nastier stuff out there.
I've made no attempt to hide my identity here. I'm just as public as thenewgreen. It does impose some limitations. I can remember at least twice typing a comment on a thread and then deleting it because it was something I would not want the world to know. In both cases I remember thinking that that was a shame because I had a perspective that I think would have contributed something. I thought about creating another account for just such cases but I haven't. I've only gotten in one scuffle here, but wasn't worried about being hunted down. I'm not an asshole most of the time. On those rare moments that I want to be, having my identity public can serve to keep me in check. Only a little annoying. I'd rather be me here and let you know it. The things I want to share are usually things I create and am proud to take ownership of. So you get me. The price is that sometimes I'm more cautious than I want to be.
Really? I want to read the nsfw version of this: Don't hold back Mike.The price is that sometimes I'm more cautious than I want to be.
As far as I am concerned, thenewgreen is pretty much like writing "Steven Clausnitzer." I used the name of my band and there are links/articles that state who the signer/songwriter is. (at least there used to be.) Plus, as one of the co-founders of Hubski there have been some articles etc. that have used my name. So, for me it's a bit different, I don't have much of a choice at this point. Still, even if I did, I wouldn't be embarrassed by my content etc. I'd let my grandparents see my comment/posting history. Nothing to be ashamed of. I am thenewgreen. thenewgreen is me. I would likely have used the name "steve" or "steven" when I joined Hubski, but steve signed up like the MINUTE mk created the damn place. -Punk.
Shy of signing some PM's with my "legal" first name, and giving insom my full name (for mailing stickers, of course), I have not associated my Hubski and AFK identities. Like you, I was also more comfortable sharing things more intimately when the user base was smaller. That's instinctual. But yeah, my face is on here, if you know where to look, along with pieces of what I do, where I'm located, and many other personal details. Still, I don't imagine that it's enough to work out my identity. What incentive do we have for divulging such information? Only very infrequently do we have attacks on peoples' character, so volunteering your professional credentials (as associated with your legal name) doesn't carry too much weight. I really hope Hubski meetups aren't something that become more infrequent as the user base grows. When you attend a meetup, everyone kinda throws their hat into the ring, and they're in it together. How would it make you feel if a total newcomer to Hubski attended a meetup? I think I'd be slightly less comfortable, depending on how many other people I was familiar with were present. Also, 'bl00's story about when reddit tried to dox him was terrifying.
Well, I didn't pull my username out of a hat... Everything is already tied to my real name, and it's been impossible to separate the two from the get-go. Facebook requires a real name, Google+ requires a real name, and I've got my own website which is literally just my name .com. I've got a game development blog which uses my real name, and if I'm on a site like this where I may want to discuss something I've written or some project I'm working on, I might as well use my real name, since you'd know what it is anyway. The size of the site doesn't matter much, since I was /u/CraigEllsworth on Reddit, as well. Once upon a time, I used more anonymous usernames, and I guess on occasion I still do, but for the most part, I don't feel the need for separating the physical and the virtual anymore. I try not to do anything that I'd regret, and it usually works out.
> I try not to do anything that I'd regret, and it usually works out. Isn't this the real take-away. If you have a username that you feel is totally anonymous you might post different, or at least not give each post the same scrutiny as you do now. Do you think that you consider what you post more carefully with your username linked to your real name? Being anonymous on the internet can mean leaving some of the polite bits of you behind the keyboard. On the other hand, who knows what people take offense to, and as careful as you are other people are still free to act in a way that would be unacceptable irl.
My personal website is still on here for now. I'm more worried about real world ramifications than being doxxed, and there are some, but it'd be easier for someone to find out who I am here than for an employer to find out everything I've said on Hubski. Also, there's about a million people with my name which is kinda surprising but there are also like a billion white people with English/Scottish roots so maybe not so surprising.
I get Snapchats from people on Hubski, and go to concerts with them. We're friends, and friends are friends. Hubski just happens to be a really unique medium for interacting with friends, many of which you haven't met yet. I don't think it really matters if anyone knows your name or doesn't, if you get close enough with someone on Hubski, you'll naturally share real information about yourself. Also, what's all this talking about Hubski being small in the past-tense? I know the last wave was massive but, aren't we still pretty tiny?
We are definitely still pretty tiny. Also, now that the influxes have subsided, we've sort of normalized back to a small group of active users. There's no doubt that posting and commenting is less sporadic than prior to the influx, but it's not nearly has quick as it was only a week ago. People tend to come to Hubski and get really excited about it and then miss getting the quick-fix karma of reddit. -That's my take, at least. In short, we are definitely still small in comparison to the place which most people have come over from. Hope you are well pabs.
There are a very few areas of my life I don't post about on Hubski or anywhere else online. That's not because of Hubski, it's because of the internet. There are a few groups of personal experience that I've had that can be used to create "controversial" discussions that I don't want to deal with, once or over and over again, because I've already seen them happen and sometimes had to deal with them and I don't want to any more. I am reminded of 8bit and how he has to deal with racial issues and if they come up online he is always called to task for being a "representative" of that minority. Which sucks and is awful and unfair. I guess I choose to avoid at least some of that, and should appreciate that my experiences aren't as obvious as my skin color and I can choose silence instead of being called upon simply based on what I look like. Otherwise there is nothing I talk about on Hubski that I would not be willing to link to my real life identity. I am thoughtful about what I choose to share. I do also try to maintain integrity, openness and honesty as I believe answering for our past mistakes is one of the best ways to prevent repeating them.
Anyone who knows me in real life would immediately be able to identify me from my posts here, but I don't care about that too much. In general I wouldn't mind people figuring out who I am in real life through Hubski because like you I also stand by what I say here! Plus it's a small enough community where I wouldn't really feel threatened by anyone. I suspect that I'll post a lot of personal things here that might reveal my identity and I'm fine with it.
I don't mind people knowing stuff about me on here. Usually I don't go around just letting everyone know who I am because who I am doesn't really matter on here. I feel like over time I will develop personal relationships with people, and with that they will get to know me.
I like to think I'm just vague enough that people won't be able to figure out who I am. However, this is a username I use on a number of websites, and someone who met me in real life and then stumbled across my profile would probably be able to figure it out pretty easily. I suppose I share the same mentality as a number of people have already mentioned on here. I try to make sure that nobody would want to dox me. I like to think I'm fairly innocuous online anyway, I spend more time lurking than anything else. Another thing is that I don't really have much to gain by associating my 'real-world' self with my online self. I don't post much of my own content online, and what I do post I'm happy only posting under a pseudonym. The only time that personal information has ever really come out is when it's necessary for some anecdote, or when I'm discussing cultural differences, etc.
I had a username on here for a while that involved my last name and I deleted it for that reason. I'm don't hide much for the most part though, it isn't neccesary for me and this also happen to be the closest thing to social media I participate in. Having my last name felt like a bit much still, especially when recommending the site to people I wasn't entirely on a close basis with. So now, I am Matt.
I'm also becoming less comfortable sharing personal information as the site grows. It's easy to trust the people reading and commenting on the things you write about when you're aware of who a lot of those people are. But recently I can't as easily believe that the people reading are the good and trustworthy people I've become accustomed to around here. I guess that's the name of the game when people keep coming. That said, if any of y'all want to find me on social media send me a PM.