Aces Full of Links

Hot topic. I think common sense should prevail.

I'm not sure I understand the question.

No, check that: I'm sure I don't understand the question.

Yeah, it would help if I typed the question right.

It was supposed to be what do you consider to be some of the responsibilities...

I think in the future it will make more sense to write a short post and include a question, rather than just post a question.

By "online identity" I meant the person that people perceive when they communicate only through online media. The first question is about whether you think there is such a thing as an identity that is worth identifying and distinguishing from some greater (or separate) identity that a person (or persons) may have.

The second half of the sentence is about whether something other than a "person" (since an identity isn't quite the same thing as a person) can have responsibilities, and what some of those responsibilities might be.

I have basically one online identity, whose personality is (I think) pretty much the same as my offline personality. The main reason I use different names is for privacy purposes. Some of these are safety concerns and some are simply a matter of keeping worlds from colliding.

No matter what name or personality or identity or persona you assume, I think a few responsibilities are obvious. Just because you're using a different name and maybe even putting on a bit of a show with it doesn't mean you aren't a human being with the same obligations (legal and ehtical) as everyone else.

You can hide behind your "identity" when behaving like an asshole, but it won't make you less of an asshole. And frankly, if you're that much of an asshole anyway, no one will be fooled.

There have always been ways for a person to lead a double-life or have an alter ego. The Internet makes that easier, especially for lazy people. But I have to wonder if a virtual double-life isn't even less fulfilling than a regular virtual life, as compared to a real life.

I treat things pretty much as Julie describes, so I don't have anything to add about me, myself, I. I'm Barry online, and use no pseudonyms, no alter egi, no secret identities.

That said, there are certainly good reasons to use different identities at different times or for different purposes, if one chooses to do so. I think the responsibility we have when we do that is to behave ethically. Don't use multiple identities to stuff ballot boxes. Don't use one to artificially promote another. Things like that.

I think it's unethical, for instance, to use more than one identity in the same blog/mailing-list discussion. It's unethical (and against eBay's rules) to use alternate identities to pump up the bid prices on your online auctions. It's pretty easy to decide whether some use of a second or third identity is ethical... we all know it when we see it.

When I used to read the running newsgroup, there was a troll named "Miss Ann Thrope" (ha ha), who would insult people on the group. Mostly he insulted one particular guy, Doug. This one particular guy was a very dominant voice on the group, and actually went off on a swearing tirade at me that made other people step back and start asking him some hard questions (which he didn't answer). I think "Miss Ann" must have had a similar experience, left, and came back as the troll. I always thought "Miss Ann" was funny, but it was cowardly and dishonest and I wouldn't do it myself.

I believe I read somewhere that men are more abusive in online groups. When Doug flamed me, a woman on the group wrote to me personally about how upsetting it was, and she said, "he wouldn't have done that if your husband had been standing next to you, or your family had been around you." I thought that was interesting. It's possible that bullies latch on to these semi-anonymous situations to do their dirty work.

I never cared that Doug flew off the handle, I always knew he was a jerk and I didn't expect less. And, as I said, I always liked Miss Ann.