Re: Somewhat OT: Thoughts about anonymous posting?

Posted by David Marso on Mar 15, 2013; 12:15am
URL: http://spssx-discussion.165.s1.nabble.com/Somewhat-OT-Thoughts-about-anonymous-posting-tp5718681p5718693.html

I always wondered how you came up with NEILA.  (I suppose it's purely coincidental that if you arrange the letters in reverse order you get ALIEN.)    "

How perceptive ;-)
Yep ! Neila = Inverted Alien!
The Nessa part came from my ex who was a veritable lioness.
You could say I was pussy whipped!

@ Jon,  I don't know about 'thinly veiled'  
It took Raynaldo 2 years to remove Neila from his short list of SPSSers.
I'm sure some mistook Neila as David's evil twin!
--

Bruce Weaver wrote

"Some of you old farts probably remember those days!"

Gee, thanks David.  You've put us in a no-win situation.  If we acknowledge that we remember, we're old farts.  If those of us of a certain age claim to have no recollection of it, we're even older farts with memory loss.  

I always wondered how you came up with NEILA.  (I suppose it's purely coincidental that if you arrange the letters in reverse order you get ALIEN.)    

;-)

David Marso wrote

Well,
Back in a former life I adopted a nom de plume (Neila Nessa) so I wouldn't have to deal with possible repercussions if the views stated and defended were somehow 'against the grain' of the dominant paradigm of my employer at the time (ie SPSS).  I posted from work as David Marso and from home as Neila Nessa.  Sometimes I would even argue with myself to make a point ;-).
Some of you old farts probably remember those days!
--
These days? Well I'm just me!  I wouldn't think of going anon these days.  
Why? Well, I have a long history and when people need to hire an able bodied hard-core SPSS programmer I tend to get offered the work.  
I am not terribly cube-farm friendly so I usually insist on doing it remotely (or double my normal rate to show up)!
There is the other side of the equation to consider:
When someone posts questions under a weird moniker, I am less likely to put a whole lot of time or effort into responding.
David

Ryan Black wrote

Dear SPSS-L,

I'm curious...What are people's thoughts about posting anonymously versus
self-identifying. Because much of what I post on list-serves ends up in
some way, shape, or form in a peer-reviewed journal articles, I have toyed
with the idea of posting from an anonymous email. Those who have followed
my posts, I hope, notice that I always make a concerted effort to be
respectful, and I take validation of whatever statistical method I propose
for a particular research question very seriously. This, I am certain,
would not change if I were to switch to an anonymous email.

So why go anonymous?
1. Right now, if someone were determined to find out exactly where I work
and what I do, it wouldn't be all that difficult (I know this to be
true--don't ask...). I enjoy my privacy.
2. Often, I think that if I want something I have written to be attached to
my name that could potentially be on the Internet FOREVER, I would prefer
that it go through the peer-reviewed journal process.
3. While I would remain respectful, I would feel more comfortable being a
bit more direct.

Frankly, I post to this list because I enjoy doing it, hoping that what I
post proves useful to the OP and others. Having my actual name connected to
the post is less important to me. And I ought not forget to state that I
learn much more from others' posts than I know I will ever be able to offer
with my posts.

What do others think about anonymous posting? For me, this is not a black
and white issue. Having said that, recently I've been leaning more and more
towards anonymity.

Ryan

Bruce Weaver wrote

"Some of you old farts probably remember those days!"

Gee, thanks David.  You've put us in a no-win situation.  If we acknowledge that we remember, we're old farts.  If those of us of a certain age claim to have no recollection of it, we're even older farts with memory loss.  

I always wondered how you came up with NEILA.  (I suppose it's purely coincidental that if you arrange the letters in reverse order you get ALIEN.)    

;-)

David Marso wrote

Well,
Back in a former life I adopted a nom de plume (Neila Nessa) so I wouldn't have to deal with possible repercussions if the views stated and defended were somehow 'against the grain' of the dominant paradigm of my employer at the time (ie SPSS).  I posted from work as David Marso and from home as Neila Nessa.  Sometimes I would even argue with myself to make a point ;-).
Some of you old farts probably remember those days!
--
These days? Well I'm just me!  I wouldn't think of going anon these days.  
Why? Well, I have a long history and when people need to hire an able bodied hard-core SPSS programmer I tend to get offered the work.  
I am not terribly cube-farm friendly so I usually insist on doing it remotely (or double my normal rate to show up)!
There is the other side of the equation to consider:
When someone posts questions under a weird moniker, I am less likely to put a whole lot of time or effort into responding.
David

Ryan Black wrote

Dear SPSS-L,

I'm curious...What are people's thoughts about posting anonymously versus
self-identifying. Because much of what I post on list-serves ends up in
some way, shape, or form in a peer-reviewed journal articles, I have toyed
with the idea of posting from an anonymous email. Those who have followed
my posts, I hope, notice that I always make a concerted effort to be
respectful, and I take validation of whatever statistical method I propose
for a particular research question very seriously. This, I am certain,
would not change if I were to switch to an anonymous email.

So why go anonymous?
1. Right now, if someone were determined to find out exactly where I work
and what I do, it wouldn't be all that difficult (I know this to be
true--don't ask...). I enjoy my privacy.
2. Often, I think that if I want something I have written to be attached to
my name that could potentially be on the Internet FOREVER, I would prefer
that it go through the peer-reviewed journal process.
3. While I would remain respectful, I would feel more comfortable being a
bit more direct.

Frankly, I post to this list because I enjoy doing it, hoping that what I
post proves useful to the OP and others. Having my actual name connected to
the post is less important to me. And I ought not forget to state that I
learn much more from others' posts than I know I will ever be able to offer
with my posts.

What do others think about anonymous posting? For me, this is not a black
and white issue. Having said that, recently I've been leaning more and more
towards anonymity.

Ryan