A note of appreciation

For the startling number of people here who post under their own names. Who make the same choice that I routinely make wherever I put my thoughts out there, be it here, other websites, or in print: to attach my name to my opinions. To not hide behind the comfort of anonymity. Even though this course of action has subjected me to: people trying to get me fired from Marvel; people trying to get me fired from DC; attempts at boycotts; my name showing up on blacklists; people challenging me to debates; people writing and publishing diatribes based upon things I never said; people shouting at me at conventions; people showing up at store signings and hurling a steady stream of abuse; and much more.

Screw ’em.

For me, living in a free society isn’t always a comfortable thing, and that’s the part we should appreciate–and often don’t. Just ask all the would-be censors who want certain books, certain comic books, certain TV shows, certain movies, to just go away or, even better, be driven away through means ranging from organized boycotts to legal prosecution. They’re all in favor of free speech, as long as it’s within their comfort zone. Why would anyone want to share any traits, on any level, with people like that? Lack of comfort is what you should be willing to deal with. That’s the price of a free society.

I’m always reminded that in 1776, a bunch of rich white guys signed their names to a piece of paper telling the king to sod off, knowing that it could cost them their property, their freedom, their lives, their sacred honor. And here we are, 250 years later, and we’re afraid to sign our names to our opinions because we don’t wanna get spammed or trolled?

I totally understand the attraction of anonymity. I can’t say, though, as I think it’s helped rational discourse in this country. I always flash back to that Disney cartoon with Goofy as a driver. He’s perfectly calm and rational and polite until he gets behind the wheel and he becomes an anonymous guy in a car…and then goes totally mental. I think the information superhighway is loaded with guys who wind up turning into outraged Goofys. I see discussion boards where people almost uniformly post under fake names, but it doesn’t come across like discussion. You know what it reads like? Road rage.

So fine. I choose to drive with the top down so people know who’s behind the wheel.

Others are, of course, welcome to do as they wish. Free society, after all.

PAD

186 comments on “A note of appreciation

  1. I sometimes use codenames online, usually “Cavaliere,” because I’m a superhero fan and think that codenames are cool. Even then, I don’t really make a secret of my real name.

  2. It’s tough enough just being yourself in this crazy mixed up world we find ourselves in today.
    If I don’t have the courage to use my First Amendment rights under my own name, what good would it do me to use an alias?
    I am Lee Houston, Junior (and for what it’s worth) I approve this installment of Peter David’s But I Digress and my response.

  3. I’ve actually never had issues with people using nicknames as posters since the advent of the Internet; I always assumed that most people have the same amount of fun with it as truckers who use CB handles. I can see Peter’s point regarding some posters here and elsewhere who obviously take sinister delight in making outrageous and inflammatory comments that they never need fear being held accountable for because they’re unidentifiable; but I’m sure he’s wise enough to realize that the most offensive of them won’t be shamed into coming clean with their true identities after reading this post since their true purpose is shock and awe. Personally, I wouldn’t be any more comfortable being called an ášš by a fully revealed person than I would be by someone in the shadows if neither had any true basis for making that assessment.
    .
    Some of you may be familiar with an increasingly popular liberal weekly podcast called The Professional Left, moderated by pair of married bloggers who go by the handles “Blue Gal” and “Driftglass”. Each episode, ranging from 30 minutes to an hour in length, offers an intense and saltily-languaged conversation between the couple commenting, and bìŧçhìņg, on the far right (although they don’t spare the left and the Obama administration criticisms when deserved). Blue Gal, who’s on staff at the Crooks and Liars political news site, freely reveals her real name, Frances Langum, and uses her name and image on her on separate web site and Facebook page; however her husband, Driftglass, has remained completely anonymous, never making public appearances with Blue Gal where there is the possibility that he may be filmed or photographed. Just on the podcast from last week, Driftglass read an e-mail from a listener who questioned his motives for his anonymity and if in fact the strength of his convictions was diminished by “hiding” behind a blogger name. Driftglass, who in recent podcasts has revealed that he was laid off from his actual job a while back, responded by basically saying that he would love to be able to do the podcast and blog without the need of an alias, but the harsh reality was he still needed to make a living to sustain himself, and in his usual line of work he’d been situations in which it would have been extremely difficult to interact with coworkers and clients if the nature of his extra-curricular activities he widely known.
    .
    For me it’s not an issue of known vs. unknown with comments, but rather substance vs. inanity. Oh sure, jokes and humor certainly make the interactions fun, but displays of sheer stupidity and ignorance done on purpose take away from the substantive exchange of ideas, opinions and knowledge in the responses, which irritate regardless of the identities of the perpetrators. So no, I don’t need to know the real names of Rene, Bladestar, El Hombre Malo or the other anonymous visitors here who always give concise and well thought-out comments whether I agree with them or not.
    .
    BTW, the “L” in my name is for Lindsey.

    1. That last line in the second paragraph above should read, “and in his usual line of work he’d been in situations in which it would have been extremely difficult to interact with coworkers and clients if the nature of his extra-curricular activities were widely known.”

    2. Lindsey, I think there’s a world of difference between truckers coming up with CB handles for the purpose of communicating with other truckers to break up the monotony of the drive (not to mention warn them about speedtraps that Smokey’s set up) and people assuming on line identities so they feel they have the liberty to trash talk and even defame others with impunity.
      .
      PAD

      1. Yeah, Peter, I agree that motivations for adopting nicknames are vastly different between truckers and Internet bloggers. The point I was trying to makes is that I really don’t think that most posters who use aliases do so just to embolden themselves to make statements and comments that they normally wouldn’t when their identities are fully known. For some I’m sure it’s just for the purpose of being more memorable (such as using “The Blue Torpedo” instead of one’s given name of “Morton”) and more quickly identfied by others specifically looking for their comments; and others I’m certain do it just for the pure fun of it. The jerkoffs who do take pleasure in making derisive comments simply wouldn’t show up anyway if forced to fully reveal themselves, so I really don’t see any use in trying to appeal to their better nature, assuming they have any to begin with.

  4. Lindsay, I certainly didn’t get a sense that Peter was trying to shame the anonymous poster, but that he was actually happy that so many people that took time to post here actually did it with their own names. And while it may not make any difference to you if the person who calls you an ášš does it anonymously, that person may think twice about calling you an ášš if he did it under his own name rather than a made-up handle.
    .
    Lee Houston, you brought up an interesting point at least for me in that I share the same name as my father, who was hugely popular in this town, our local church and the school he taught in. Even though my parents migrated south a couple of decades ago, I suppose I still feel a certain responsibility to his name. And part of me has thought more than once, I could probably run for mayor of this town and- like Eddie Murphy in The Distinguished Gentleman- stand a good chance of winning just by the number of people who thought they were voting for my dad!

  5. if someone just wants to express enjoyment of PAD’s work or chime in during a pun-off or whatever, I see no problem with using whatever cute/goofy/etc moniker they choose. Go by Norm D. Plume or Sue D. Nym. I won’t even get it until someone says something.
    .
    If you are partaking in the back and forth of political arguments, especially if you are casting any aspersions on the opinions of others, you have to man (or woman) up and give your name if you expect to be taken seriously. At the very least, if you are being anonymous you need to have some seriously rock solid arguments. You’d better be a regular Silence Dogood.
    .
    I’ve never had any problems whatsoever in this regard and not using my name would probably have meant I would have lost out on the opportunity for friendship with a number of fine people here. Of course I also have tried not to do or say anything that would be completely deserving of a punch to the snout. Hopefully we can get through another election year with that being the case, always a challenge.

  6. ireactions wrote: “I prefer not to post under my real name simply because there are a lot of crazy people on the Internet, some of whom have threatened to kill Peter David at times.”

    Peter David wrote: “There are?”

    ireactions wrote: “http://www.peterdavid.net/index.php/2003/11/13/threats/ Yes. There are.”

    Peter David wrote: “Oh, THAT idiot. He still goes around to this day trash-talking me on various boards. No threats of assaulting me at conventions, though. … his threats came as a result, not of anything I said anywhere on line, but because of an issue of “Supergirl” I wrote. So what should I do? Write stories under pen names lest I wind up pìššìņg øff someone and they come after me?”

    Peter, I wouldn’t presume to tell a man of your education, experience and talent what to do with his career. I’m sure you know what you’re doing our you wouldn’t still be in business after so long.

    We simply have different levels of comfort with posting our names online. I admire your courage, but I do not wish to emulate it.

    1. See, that’s the thing. I honestly don’t think of it as courage. To me, courage is when you’re terrified of doing something but do it anyway. I have no fear putting my opinions out there and attaching my name to them; I literally couldn’t see doing it any other way. So I don’t see that as courage. Maybe it’s just benighted stupidity.
      .
      PAD

  7. My only concern about posting under my real name is that I don’t want potential employers to google me and find me on comic book message boards chatting about which version of Hulk is my favorite (Mr. Fixit). Hopefully dropping my last name from posts is a fair compromise.

    1. Well, two things come to mind:
      .
      Would employers really care about that?
      .
      What if the potential employer finds that and says, “Holy crap! That’s MY favorite version of the Hulk, too! This guy’ll fit in great!” Rather than hurting you, it could wind up sealing the deal.
      .
      Just a thought.
      .
      PAD

      1. I did have a boss who googled me… but this was the same guy who brought up the subject of comics during the interview. So you could be right.

      2. A bit off-topic, but my wife wound up reciting/singing the Klingon version of the Tigger song during a job interview. She left that evening saying, “okay, I either just totally nailed that job or totally lost it right then.”
        .
        She’s still employed at said institution, with tenure yet. So sometimes it works. 🙂

    2. .
      My employers know what I’m in to. Some of them have even seen my Facebook page and seen the photos of me covered in gore (some of Bill Mulligan’s work,) seen pictures of me exposing my 4 year old son to women dressed in barely there costumes at Dragon*Con and seen what most of my friends list looks like (horror hosts in full makeup and horror related people make up the bulk of it.) I’m still employed and my job requires me to be able to carry a gun.
      .
      I’m pretty sure most of your potential employers won’t care which Hulk is your fave or who your pick as fastest was in the Flash VS Superman race. Trust me, if I’m still employed with what my bosses know about me and what I consider fun, you’re safer than you could possibly believe.

  8. Scott — I see your point. However, as someone who has worked in management, I think potential employers don’t really care if you’re into comic books. They generally don’t want to hire people who appear insane (long screeds against employers).

    It is a balance. I understand PAD’s point about the Declaration of Independence, but you’re right, Scott: Posting on this board is hardly fighting for the freedom of a nation. You might be inclined to risk anything for the latter but not for the former. That’s why a lot of teachers aren’t on Facebook.

    I think it’s unfortunate that an employer would discriminate against a job applicant because that guy posts liberal or conservative opinions on a blog or Facebook. But it happens. The information is too easy to acquire. Who would have had the resources to go to the library and look up letters to the editor from the local paper?

  9. Peter, you reminded me of my freshman year in college, when I was taking a class in written communications. The professor had a way of walking up and down the aisles when he talked, and at what point, he stopped in mid-lecture, picked up a copy of The Shining from the pile of books on my desk and began reading the back cover. ‘Any good?’ he asked me. This is before Stephen King was STEPHEN KING and his books became ubiquitous. ‘Can I borrow it when you’re done?’ he asked and of course I said yes. Not long after that, I picked up a copy of Salem’s Lot from a used bookstore, and Carrie a few months after that. All of which were borrowed by my professor and faithfully returned- usually right in the middle of a lecture, along with his comments about the book. I got one of the few As in that class, and another A a year later in Creative Writing. So thank you to the inhabitants of Castle Rock and the Overlook Hotel for their respective help.

  10. For me, living in a free society isn’t always a comfortable thing, and that’s the part we should appreciate–and often don’t. Just ask all the would-be censors who want certain books, certain comic books, certain TV shows, certain movies, to just go away or, even better, be driven away through means ranging from organized boycotts to legal prosecution. They’re all in favor of free speech, as long as it’s within their comfort zone. Why would anyone want to share any traits, on any level, with people like that? Lack of comfort is what you should be willing to deal with. That’s the price of a free society.

    I’ve found there are some ostensibly logical arguments for legislating (or at least heavily stigmatizing) around certain behaviors which ultimately come down to mental comfort levels. When you scratch the surface, it often ends up being a case of unexamined, “Ew, I don’t want to see that.” Or even better, a case of unexamined, “Oh, no, I don’t want to think about that.” Book-banning tends to fall into this category. (Example: Laura “I don’t have to read the books to know they’re evil” Mallory) I just published my debut novel a few weeks ago and when I hear about it getting banned from library systems, I’ll know I’ve succeeded. :p

  11. Thank you Peter. For everything you do for me and everyone else (including those who have no idea what you do) in allowing free discussion on this board.

    I’ve never used a code name and have no reason to do otherwise.

  12. I agree with you on your analysis of the internet world. There’s one issue, though, when the anonymity of the internet is important (and why I’m against a law that enforces people to post under their real names – which is discussed right now in my country). If, for example, someone from Iran living in the US writes about the conditions in his homecountry – and his family, still in Iran, has to suffer because of it.

    Pascal Salzmann (Germany)

    1. Certainly can’t argue with that. Haven’t heard from you in a while, Pascal.
      .
      Actually, in going back over old blog entries (I was rereading stuff from 2003) I was surprised by the number of people who used to post here but I haven’t seen much of. Made me worry.
      .
      PAD

  13. Nah, I’m still around. Just busy with my job, so not that active on comic boards, etc. I don’t read comics as I used to do, anyway. I still read your stuff, though.
    Btw, I married in September and my husband is reading your Apropos-trilogy right now. He loves it.

    1. That’s great to hear. Congrats. And don’t forget about the Apropos comic book limited series, published by IDW. It’s collected in a really nice trade edition.
      .
      PAD

  14. I have almost always used “a handle” as a login since the late 80s on the internet, but always have my name in my signature. I started using “odessasteps” partially as a marketing tool for Odessa Steps Magazine, when I started it in 2000.

    mark coale

  15. For the most part, Evil Twin, I’ve been posting on Facebook or tied up in that dámņëd addictive game, Perfect World. What happened to get this thread going?

    I’ve gone by Miles Vorkosigan here because I’m a huge fan of those books, but if posting under a pseudonym is a problem now, I have no trouble using my real name. If someone has a problem with me, they’re welcome to drive to Nashville and discuss it personally.

    1. There are books?
      .
      (Kidding).
      .
      No, posting under a pseudonym isn’t a problem. This is a free speech zone; people can post as Lydia the Tattooed Lady, for all I care. What it comes down to is that I find, speaking purely in generalities, that boards where most of the people post under their own names rather than assumed identities tend not to devolve into name calling and nastiness. And I’m glad that that seems to be the prevailing attitude on this board, you brainless buffoon.
      .
      PAD

  16. While anonymity does empower one (why else would we write/read about masked heroes), we’ve now seen what can be done by such entities as Anonymous with their various hacking activities, as well as what happens when said entities reveal themselves, as with the case with Phoenix Jones. It’s a bit weird seeing a comic-book plot come to life.

    1. I still maintain that Phoenix Jones was a bigger superhero in his day job than he ever has been in the vinyl-and-kevlar suit. He taught life skills (paying bills, balancing checkbooks, that sort of thing) to autistic adults, through the Department of Social and Health Services.
      .
      Sadly, after he unmasked, he was fired, because he fell into the category of “personnel who are involved in violent interactions”. Now, in between job searches, he’s free to patrol the city during the day as well as at night.

  17. I’m all about personal responsobility myself. I’ve always gotten the impression that the world is frequently hyper-sensitive, and the related impression that maybe the world isn’t, but contrary to the legal aspects of censorship about appealing to the prurient interests of the average member of the target community, what is and is not acceptable is dictated by a handful of egotistical, moralistic control freaks. All it takes for censorship to succeed is for good men to do nothing and all that.

    And as I was posting this, I had a thought. When I was still doing my own blog, visited exclusively by authors since I’m a literary agent’s assistant, I used my real name. Heck, the site’s name was a pun based on my name. And holy hëll did I get some hate mail (plus passive agressive bìŧçhìņg about some of the most irrelevant stuff behind my back on Absolute Write etc.) and yet when I say things comparitively innocuous, as I am here or even moreso, I only use my initials. I’m trying, but I can’t really think of any reason why. So I’ll use my full name from now on.

    Or more likely, just today. I’ll probably forget by the next time I post. I’m a lurker anyway.

    RC

  18. This is the only place on the web where I use my full name (I’ve been on some mailing lists for years and years where one’s real name generally comes standard). Sometimes I wish I didn’t, because I, like the average American worker these days, has to worry about whether his boss is ‘looking over his shoulder’ at what he says/does on the Internet.
    .
    I’ve also known some folks who have seen Internet-based harassment turn into harassment off the web. The Internet can be a dreadful place at times.
    .
    I’m not into trolling, but handles are the way it is most everywhere, so for me as much about going with the flow. Even then, I wish I was more careful about my usernames – choosing different ones for different interests, so not too much is attached to one username.
    .
    I guess I envy the likes of Bill Mulligan; easier to go by your real name when there’s lot of people with that name. 🙂

  19. I choose to partially use my name. I rarely use my last name online, but it wouldn’t be difficult for someone to put it together. But that’s mainly just the way I’ve decided to do it since a co-worker told my boss (about a decade ago) that he thought I spent too much time online.

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