Ravenwood - 09/22/05 06:15 AM
A certain pair of bloggers recently yanked their site without explanation, and have caused a bit of an uproar in the blogosphere. It's as if millions of voices suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced.
Rumors abound and official explanations from those in the know are deliberately vague, but it looks like the people in question had a sudden interest in disappearing from the internet. That is, they had put themselves out there, traded on their real name, and now all of a sudden needed anonymity.
The problem is that the internet doesn't work like that. Putting stuff on the internet is easy, but removing it can literally take years. That is why many people choose to blog anonymously, or maintain an alias. They may not have a reason for anonymity now, but one could develop rather quickly.
Then there was the outrage over their sudden departure. A presence that was always there was suddenly removed, and a lot of people were upset. Some people who had donated money, given gifts, and purchased merchandise felt downright betrayed. This is why Ravenwood's Universe is an advertising/donation/wish-list free zone. I don't even accept paid advertising or free hosting (both of which have been offered) because I don't want the obligation. If I ever have to disappear like that (ie: they .gov comes for my porn stash), or I just want to hang it up, I don't owe anyone anything.
Of course I don't see that happening anytime soon.
All good reasons for anonymity. I felt the same way about ads until I realized I could pay for my ammo supply just by putting two lines of code in my template :)
Another good reason for it is you may run for office some day.
Posted by: SayUncle at September 22, 2005 8:38 AMI will never run for office, and I don't run ads or even have a tipjar because I tend to post copyrighted material in its entirety on my site. I have a "Fair Use" disclaimer at the bottom of the page, even. With no possibility of profit, "fair use" is easier to sustain.
But I'm beginning to see the advantages of anonymity.
Too late for me, of course.
Posted by: Kevin Baker at September 22, 2005 9:26 AMIronically, I've been using my real name on the internet for almost a decade now. Hell, there's a map to find me at work in my sigline on most boards.
I've just decided to live by Doc Holliday's words in Wyatt Earp and be proud of myself and my profession, and not say things from a behind a keyboard that I wouldn't say in meatspace. If the .gove don't like it, they know who I am and where to find me.
(Besides, I figure that I'm safe as long as they're letting Oleg Volk run loose. He's my canary in the coalmine: When Oleg stops answering the phone, I run for the hills. ;-) )
Posted by: Tam at September 22, 2005 11:50 AMOn the internet I try to live by the words that I'd act the same in public as I would the internet but when you go to blow off steam and talk about idiots people can read it the wrong way or out of context. I'm not ashamed to use my first name. (Which alone makes it easy to track me down.) And occassional mailings and other dealings most of my net friends know pretty much who I am. But seeing what happens to some people and for a career that I am going into where they always have someone out to get you I see it as detrimental and a liability to poor your heart out to friend and foe alike. Plus, the possibilities of political office appeal to me and I don't want to tip my hand as to how un-PC that I am.
Posted by: Rhett at September 22, 2005 3:09 PMI know the online work of the pair in question. I'm pretty sure I understand why they're doing what they're doing. The bottom line is they are in a business that is beyond paranoid about one subject these two (and many others who read here) strongly believe in. So to keep the company afloat they have to keep their opinions to themselves for a while. That's a cold reality, but we live in a messed up wrong thinking cold world. I don't like it but I understand 100% and do not feel betrayed at all.
OTOH I could be a total dingbat and have it all wrong.
Posted by: Drew at September 22, 2005 5:56 PM(Besides, I figure that I'm safe as long as they're letting Oleg Volk run loose. He's my canary in the coalmine: When Oleg stops answering the phone, I run for the hills. ;-) )
Tam, speaking of answering the phone...has your cell number changed? You missed a great party as you are not easily findable by phone or email and seem to have neglected your PMs on The High Road.
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