In the message prior to this one (below) I discussed my arguments
against the practice of anonymity. I recently read a great article
that discusses some disadvantages of practicing anonymity.

Here's the article: http://selfsip.org/focus/anonymity.html

I really like this article because it is concise in communicating a
very important, practical, *negative* implication of anonymity. I
understood this point of the article as thus: when making any
decision, one must have information upon which to base hir decision.
This point applies to any decision, including what foods to eat, what
types of exercise to engage in, what books to read, where to buy
food, which car to buy, etc. This article points out very clearly,
and accurately, that the decision regarding *who to interact with* is
also based on information. That is, if I were considering striking up
a conversation with someone, whether I do so is dependent on the
information I have about that person. If I have *no* information
about a person (i.e. that person *practices anonymity*) I will likely
choose not to interact with hir. This is because I have no
information on which to base a decision. But, if that person were to
tell me something about hirself, I can then at least have *some*
information upon which to make a decision about interacting with hir.
Without such information I can make no decision. In contrast, the
more information I am presented with, the more confident I can be in
my decision. So, the person who practices anonymity has a much-
reduced chance of garnering the interest of those who hold similar
ideas.

As a personal example, I have made a personal profile on several
networking websites. When browsing these websites I often find
numerous individuals who have submitted no personal picture and only
a very, very brief personal introduction. I recall that I have
instinctively ignored these people and decided not to interact with
them. I now realize that I had made this decision because I have no
idea who they are, what they look like, what their personal
philosophies are, etc. The people that neglect to be more descriptive
give me no information! I only have a limited amount of time - why
would I decide to say hello to a person who has told me nothing about
hirself? A person who registers at networking websites with the
intent of meeting new people, and does a poor job of communicating
characteristics about hirself, is simply wasting hir time.

This article presents a strong argument for the practice of *at
least* being open and communicative about *some* aspects of one's
character, including interests, dislikes, hobbies, etc. How else does
one get acquainted with others? And communicating this information to
a large number of people is very convenient with the internet. I plan
on making a personal website in the future for just this purpose.
Finally, I think the best networking sites would be those that allow
the largest number of methods by which a person can communicate
personal information (personal videos, pictures, writings, etc.).

I hope others will enjoy this article as much as I have!

---
Steve Floyd


--- In morelife@yahoogroups.com, "Steve Floyd Jr" <fallaxus@...>
wrote:
>
> Hello everyone,
>
> I have spent a considerable amount of time in the past few days
> reading, analyzing, and interpreting the works of Nathaniel Branden.
> From my understanding, Branden is well-known as a psychologist and
> for his books on self-esteem. During the past few days of my
> studying I have experienced a remarkable amount of self-discovery
> that I would like to share with the group. Prior to my beginning to
> read Branden's work I thought myself to be a successful, socially
> well-adjusted 26-year old male. I still think these things about
> myself, but after reading Branden's work it is apparent to me that I
> still have plenty of work to do in developing myself to be as
> rational and well-adjusted as I can be. As I have found my
> experiences studying Branden's work to be very enlightening and even
> life-changing, I would encourage others who have not yet read his
> work to consider doing so.
>
> Before I get started with my thoughts about Branden's ideas and how
I
> have applied them to me I would first like to discuss my thoughts on
> sharing the "personal" information I am about to share. Some of the
> ideas I am about to share may seem to others to be highly personal,
> and a reader might ask the question: "why would Steve share this
> with other people on the internet he doesn't even know". A reader
> might also think: "I would never share such highly personal thoughts
> and experiences as Steve has in such a public forum". Since many
> people who are active on the internet seem to be what I would
> call "overly cautious" of sharing personal information with others,
> these questions are ones I would like to reply to, in hopes that my
> answers inspire readers to reconsider their overly-private
> disposition.
>
> When considering whether I would share these thoughts openly with
> others (or when considering sharing any information with others), I
> ask myself if there is possibility of negative consequences to me by
> sharing these thoughts. Answering this question can be difficult
> sometimes, such as the question: "should one share their financial
> information with others?" By my analysis, there seems to be a number
> of possible negative consequences that I might be more likely to be
> subjected to should I share my personal financial information with
> others. For example, if I had a large amount of wealth and shared
> this information openly with everyone I knew, some people (given a
> large enough sample of people who are aware of my wealth) would
> consider taking advantage of me to obtain some of my wealth. To this
> point I might reply: "well, if I am not being foolish with my
> wealth, and only use it for things that are important to me, no one
> would be able to cause me to part with my wealth without my
> consent". I think this is a valid reply to such an argument.
> However, some of these people, aware of my wealth, may consider
> taking my wealth from me by force. This, of course, would make my
> life more dangerous, much like carrying a large amount of cash
around
> on my person, and being flashy with it, in a crowded area. From my
> understanding, doing this would make it more likely that I could be
> harmed for my cash (i.e. for my wealth).
>
> However, from my analysis, sharing personal thoughts and experiences
> is much different than sharing information about wealth. If one
> tries to compare the two pieces of information (about wealth and
> about experiences), only the former can be stolen. That is, the two
> types of information are not comparable in their value to others. If
> someone knows that I have had a certain thought, or experienced a
> particular feeling, they can not use this information to deprive me
> of material wealth.
>
> On the other hand, a person with possession of this knowledge might
> use this information to illustrate me to others as a bad person.
> That is, if I am convinced of an idea that would result in me being
> harmful to other people, the fact that I hold this idea can be
> communicated to a large audience with the intent to cause others to
> dislike me. Should I be convinced of ideas that are harmful to
> others I should be careful about what ideas and experiences I share
> with others, for I wouldn't want others to hate me (i.e. socially
> preference against me).
>
> Then it is good for me I hold no such views! :)
>
> My question then, for those who are convinced that they should not
> share their personal experiences and philosophies with others,
> is: "are you convinced of ideas that would motivate you to harm
> me?" For example, perhaps you firmly think that your life should be
> spent stealing from others, or that you very much enjoy killing
> people while they sleep. Certainly I would not want to associate
> with you if you hold these views, and I would also communicate to
> those I cared about that it is in their best interests to avoid you.
> However, how many people, that is, what proportion of people hold
> views like this? And even more relevant, if *you*, reading this now,
> hold no such harmful or malicious views, what is the harm in sharing
> them? Perhaps you will make new friends. Perhaps you and I will
> become great friends!
>
> So, I invite everyone reading this to reply to my comments,
> especially should they have personal thoughts and experiences to
> share that relate to what I am about to share.
>
> Furthermore, on the subject of sharing personal thoughts and
> experiences: perhaps a reader would be concerned of being ridiculed
> for holding a certain view or feeling a certain emotion at a
> seemingly inappropriate time. In reply to this idea, I would
> ask: "If you were to share something personal and someone were to
> ridicule you, which one of you would look like a fool to everyone
> else? You, or the person doing the ridiculing?" Of course, the
> plain answer is that any person who ridicules someone else for
> sharing personal thoughts with others is seen by others as an
> inconsiderate asshole. That would be the name for the ridiculer that
> would pop into my mind.
>
> So again, I invite you to share your thoughts and feelings. I
> certainly think we can learn from one another.
>
> ---
> Steve Floyd