There is a whole lotof shnizz throwing down here at ScienceBlogs over the issue of pseudonymity in the blogosphere. Mark at denialism discusses all the reasons he might choose to out the identity of a pseudonymous blogger here and much of this discussion is fed by a combination of some old school feuding between a few Science Bloggers and a discussion being led by adorable bloggers PalMD and Abel Pharmboy on pseudonymity in blogging. Personally, Dr. Isis finds the old feud tiresome, but she adores PalMD and Abel Pharmboy and could absolutely pinch those boys. She wishes them the best in leading their ScienceOnline '09 discussion.
That being said, I realize that, with my move here, some of us are still establishing a relationship with each other and I want to be very clear as to where I stand on the issue of pseudonymity in blogging.
I value my own pseudonymity in blogging for reasons that are too nuanced here to outline. I appreciate that you may feel the same about yours. We are all ultimately responsible for what we write (and you should remember that as you hit the "post" button). However, I promise that, unless you threaten the physical safety of another, I will never, ever reveal any personally identifiable information (including your IP address, your email address, or your name) that I may have access to as a result of your comment. Because I appreciate that outting a pseudonymous blogger may have ramifications that I cannot forsee with the data I have available to me, I promise you that I will never disclose this information to another, except to protect someone in immediate danger. I may ban you if you are an extreme dumbass, but I will guard your identity.
That's the official Dr. Isis policy and I welcome your pseudonym to the discourse and value your personal choice to maintain it. In the interest of fairness, however, you should read ScienceBlog's official privacy policy here.
All my best,
Dr. Isis
Comments
Way to throw it down like the mamma you are. Commenting on someone's blog and/or emailing a blogger requires a certain amount of trust. I, personally, give this trust freely because I feel as if many bloggers have the same understanding of the issue. What a disappointment it would be to find yourself outed for anything but the gravest of offenses.
Posted by: Candid Engineer | November 11, 2008 8:39 AM
Thanks for stating where you stand on this issue - although I already had that impression of you, that you are someone one could trust. The conversations going on elsewhere are a bit disconcerting, I think. I'd hate to be "outed" just for thinking differently about issues like those!
Posted by: Silver Fox | November 11, 2008 9:03 AM
But...what if I threaten people's safety all the time? I can't help it, my extreme hotness makes people spontaneously burst into flame...but I don't MEAN it!
Posted by: scicurious | November 11, 2008 9:13 AM
Dr. Isis,
This is a great example of a privacy policy which protects and values pseudonymity while at the same time giving you plenty of room to foster the type of debate you want (by dealing with disruptive people).
In fact, I my thinking about this had developed in this area to essentially the same endpoint.
Posted by: Nat | November 11, 2008 9:36 AM
How, I wonder, does Dr Isis know that the women she adores are female?
Posted by: AED39 | November 11, 2008 3:00 PM
AED, if you're going to get all semantical up on my ass, at the end of the day I suppose I don't.
Posted by: Isis the Scientist | November 11, 2008 3:36 PM