Dear Readers,
You may want to click away and come back tomorrow, for Moodswinging Mommy is getting all stream-of-consciousy today. Besides, she hasn't yet had her coffee. (As if inventing words isn't proof enough.) If you are of a brave sort, then by all means, read on...
When it comes to the Internet, anonymity is both a blessing and a curse.
As a blogger, I cannot enjoy one of its blessings. My family and friends read my blog. Some read it regularly enough to make me censor the topics on which I choose to write. (Message to Family and Friends: Yes, I can see you,even if you don't leave me comments. Did I mention to you that I LOVE COMMENTS? Never mind. That's a topic for another day.) Super Dad also reserves the right to final editorial approval. Since I blog about him and have to live with him, that's just best for our marriage, not to mention that it's common courtesy. To that, I might add that he's an open-minded fellow and has only exercised this option once or twice.
Sigh. So much bloggable material left untouched. And trust me when I say that it's really good stuff, too.
Damn.
I can, however, take comfort in the greatest gift of anonymity, or semi-anonymity in my case: protection of my loved ones from the sickos who roam the Internet. If you are especially observant, you may have noticed that I removed the pictures of my children from my blog a couple of days ago. All that remains are a few that do not show their complete faces. That will be my policy from now on.
Why did I post them in the first place? Well, it isn't because I am naive. Indeed, I have been using pseudonyms since day one. So why include pictures? I did so for the simple reason that this blog started out as a means to keep in touch with family and friends. As other bloggers have found with their own creations, my little corner of the Internet has evolved into something more. Much to my great surprise, I now have a greater audience. In real life, I would have no qualms inviting the majority of my readers home to tea. If I were to encounter others, I would bolt my door and possibly dial 9-1-1. I will not elaborate on this further, except to encourage you to read Absolutely Banana's excellent post. With its many links, it is a great starting point.
Yes, anonymity can be a great thing.
Yesterday, an incident occurred on one of my (too many) message boards that reminded me of the downside of anonymity. A situation came up where an anonymous poster was in a desperately bad place and was appealing for help. She was in immediate danger and was not thinking rationally. She did not reveal enough information to allow readers to assist her. Much to their credit, the message board founder and administration were quick to respond, contacting the police to see if her IP address could be traced. The end result was not one we would have hoped for. The IP was unknown, and could not be traced without a warrant. As for the suffering poster, I can only hope that she will maintain a dialog with her support group instead of doing something regrettable. I might add that the entire incident may have been a hoax, since trolls are a sad reality of the Internet. In this case, that would have been preferable. Hoax or not, the situation demanded action.
So, Dear Readers, is anonymity a good or bad thing?
Sometimes it seems you just can't win.
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