Another reason for pseudonymous blogging
metulj, who I rarely agree with and who I largely think is a dick, has called it quits:
My brother, with whom I am estranged to a degree, called me tonight to complain that someone had called him asking questions about me. Judiciously, my brother told him he had no idea who I was. This person promptly called my sister-in-law” threatening to expose details of “her relationship with me and identified himself as associated with the University of Tennessee where he said I am a student and, weirdly, as part of a Trade Commission investigating me. She hung up and got my brother to call me.
There’s a few crazy people out there and, thanks to Al Gore’s Internets, you’re more likely to run into them. Careful out there. It sucks that it happens and I wish metulj the best,
December 21st, 2006 at 1:31 pm
I applied for a job at Boeing a couple years ago. A friend of mine working there informed me that I was in the running.
Then I noticed that I got a few hits on the blog from Boeing. And then… nothing. I’ll never know if that was the clincher or not, but it was interesting. I made the mistake of putting a few links to Uncle, TSM, and my own blog on the “personal” page of my UW website. There was nothing suggesting that any of those blogs was mine, only that I read them.
December 21st, 2006 at 1:36 pm
Hmm. Fun fact, a regular reader shows up in my logs from boeing.
December 21st, 2006 at 1:59 pm
I have a regular reader from Boeing as well.
December 21st, 2006 at 2:30 pm
I don’t have a regular reader from Boeing. They showed up that once when I was up for a job. Maybe a coincidence, maybe not.
December 21st, 2006 at 4:30 pm
[…] Pervasive Light has temporarily, I hope, removed his blog. Say Uncle has a post about another blogger quitting when meatspace meets cyberspace. […]
December 21st, 2006 at 5:00 pm
I used to have a regular reader from Boeing too.
Now, of course, I pretty much only have 2 regular readers (but I guess I should expect as much since I don’t blog much anymore and have publically called it quits at least half a doxen times).
December 22nd, 2006 at 12:10 am
Uncle,
I read this whole thing on metulj. Am I missing something or is this guy being a total wuss. He gives into the creep in a very public way and folds his tent. Calling people’s families to make threats is actionable.
On the job thing, yeah, be careful with your identity out there. I’ve been on the web for so long that if someone Googles me, I probably won’t get the job, unless it’s for a webmaster for Kimber.
December 22nd, 2006 at 7:36 am
I prefer Anonymous blogging. I know there are issues with people questioning sincerity and other reasons, but I don’t get threatened or even found except if I really want to be. I think Uncle is about the only person other than my co-bloggers who I’ve given an email address that relates to my name.
And when I google my real name, I don’t get any hits related to me.
Call me paranoid if you will, but Algorez interWeb thingee is still the wild west when it comes to civility. And personally, I don’t have any desire for it to leak into my non-digital life.