Posted by Dinah on November 4, 2004, at 10:04:11
In reply to Psycho-Babble Anonymous, posted by Toph on November 3, 2004, at 12:59:22
I've talked about this with Dr. Bob before, and he's always been opposed, I think. There are certainly topics that I am reluctant (believe it or not) to bring up on the board, and would prefer to bring up anonymously. I pretty much have made myself vulnerable by bringing them up anyway. But bringing them up anonymously would be appealing. And not everyone is willing to make themselves as vulnerable as I am willing to do on occasion. They might never discuss those things under their regular posting names.
But I see some downsides too. First of all, people might be so busy trying to figure out who is who that they lose sight of the reason for the post. :) And they might guess incorrectly, causing a lot of needless speculation. If people post frequently enough and have a unique enough style, anonymity may be a thin disguise. And if anonymity does work well, there is still the problem that people would be responding... Well, part of the reason Babble is helpful is that posters get to know each other over a period of time and answer with that base of knowledge. You'd lose that if people weren't able to put the post in context with their greater knowledge of the poster, and the resulting replies might miss the mark more often. And it's still possible, maybe even more possible, to be hurt when disclosing something sensitive when it's done anonymously.
So I see pros and cons.
poster:Dinah
thread:411124
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/admin/20041027/msgs/411595.html