March 2, 2006
How to comment anonymously
Lately, I've gotten many emails or calls from people wanting to offer their opinion of what's going on, but did not want to leave a comment, for fear of having their opinion associated with their identity. While I feel very strongly that anonymity has a detrimental affect on a conversation (we humans are, as far as I can tell, almost categorically subjective, and it helps to know who you're talking to in a discussion to understand their point of view). Nevertheless, I understand that there are legitimate reasons where one would like to remain anonymous. I'm going to detail how to do that on this blog (techniques may not apply elsewhere), towards encouraging broader participation in the conversation.
When commenting, you are asked for three pieces of information: Name, Email Address and URL. Keep in mind that you don't need to tell the truth for any of these bits of info. So if you'd like to comment anonymously, you have two choices. The first is what I prefer: enter a name (not your real name), and an email address that you check regularly. Then, for the URL, put in any URL you choose (a URL is a typical internet address). You can use http://presence.baltiblogs.com, or http://www.google.com or anything. If you do this, the only information visible to readers of this site will be the name you enter, and the URL. I will get an email message with your email address. The reason I prefer this method is I can contact you offline for follow-up information, if needed.
If you really don't want your identity known to me, you can do two things. You can create a fake email address with Yahoo Mail or Gmail, and use that. This way I can contact you without your identity being revealed. The other option is to enter false email information. While I don't encourage this, if it makes the difference between an intelligent comment adding to the conversation, by all means, do it.
A note of warning: if you simply enter a name (real or false) and just an email address (leaving the URL field empty), even readers of this site will be able to see your email address.
Hope this help, if you have any questions, I can always be reached at greggersh AT yahoo DOT com.
"greggersh AT yahoo DOT com"
Where do you put the little hashgacha sign?
You know, the Oh-A.
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