DEGREES OF ANONYMITY
I mentioned in the previous page something that I really
didn't explain. Sorry about that, so here is an update
on what I meant by 'degrees of anonymity'.
When communications devices and protocols were first
created, (the first was probably written word) the
concept of being anonymous must have crossed some one's
mind out there. What if you wanted to keep something
private, or available only to a few people you know?
The problem was compounded when telegraph and even
later telephone was invented. In the case of telephones,
how could you really be sure that the person you were
speaking to was the right person? Well, obviously now a
days, such questions are for the most part moot.
Today, we rely on the fact that telephone has seemlessly
integrated itself with our lives (and a nifty invention
called caller id), and for the most part we all have the
confidence that the person on the other side of the line
is the person we expect. And, again for the most part, if
they are not the person we expect, that person would kindly
say so and say that you have the wrong number. This will
usually pass, unless of course, you were one of those
telemarketers.
But what about the Internet?
For the most part, when we first enter the web, we are
Anonymous by a large degree. Of course, IP addresses
are the one thing that gives away the owner of the
machine and something that can be used to identify
people if necessary, but for all other intents and
purposes, we are, in a sense all Anonymous upon
first contact with the Web.
However, as one starts to use the Internet for its
advantages and services, we start to give away
a little of our actual identity. Or at least a
manifestation of it. This is what separates the
End User from the 'cyberpersonality'. The End User
being the actual human, and the 'cyberpersonality'
you on the web.
For example, lets say I am a new user of the
Internet. Age can be taken into consideration, as
the age at which the Internet is introduced to
people is decreasing with its growing prominence.
But, that aside, I am a new user. And I am interested
in making an e-mail account for myself. I head on over to
a search engine and type in 'free email'. Boom.
I have just revealed a little bit about myself to the
world. And it didn't take that much effort. Now the search
engine knows that I like to look up stuff about email.
While it may not be much, I transfered information about
myself across the Net, and as a result, lost just a bit
of my neutral Anonymity status. With this, as I utilize
the services of the Internet, I reveal a bit more to the
world as I carry on my business.
Now imagine that I've reached www.google.com .
Hey! I can make a free email account here!
So I make a gmail ------> example@gmail.com
I sign their privacy and policy statements,
and again, I have revealed more of my identity. As I
continue to use the net, I lose my Anonymity in smaller
and smaller degrees. And then I decide to join a forum.
I make an account for that forum, make a username
to hide my identity, and voila, once again, I have
revealed a bit of myself. Now, even though I created a
username for my identity, it is clear that at least some
of my actual personality will be transmmited to the 'other'
me that exists in cyberspace. This is what I have revealed
about myself as the End User, not as my 'cyberpersonality'.
This reaches the height of matters (a sort of 'peak')
when we decide to join a social network or decide to
participate in online dating. We are constantly
announcing ourselves (for the most part our End User
selves) to the world at large. And anything that I
say about anything (myself, interests, politics, pictures,
familiy) can and probably will be viewed by some one. I have
sheded more of my neutral Anonymity and have given more plausibilit
to my 'cyberpersonality'.
By no means does this mean that one can completely reveal themselve
on the Internet. This is impossible as we cannot project ourselves
into cyberspace (at least not now). One can also make the argument
that you can be known accross the Interwebs under different names
in different communities. And this is true. We can have multiple
'cyberpersonalities' if we wish. But the fact stands, we will
always reveal at least a little something about ourselves
when we do this.
And this is what I mean by Degrees of Anonymity. We start out at a
pretty high unknown level, but as we use it, we start to see that w
reveal our End User selves through our 'cyberpersonalities'.
Now the important thing is how we present ourselves to the world in
this manner. Especially today, where apparently you are insane if
you don't have a Facebook (I read that somewhere lol).
The otherside of this theory is what TV Tropes (originally
Penny Arcade) calls GIFT.
It's the darker, less positive manner of thinking about the
subject of 'cyberpersonalities' due to the act of keeping
Internet Anonymity at a high level in specific (or all)
communities.
This is the Greater Internet F***wad Theory
Simply stated as this:
User + Internet + Anonymity = F***wad
This is given by the grounds that a person has more
of a tendancy to act like a complete jerk, simply
because there are no reprecussions on the End User.
They don't care about that specific 'cyberpersonality',
so they troll.
While this may be true, it generally isn't true in all
cases. But it remains an interesting byproduct of
anonymity. One is compelled to remember the antics
of the Anonymous group that manifested out of 4chan.
In anycase, this is probably something that is better
explored and researched. I will continue with this topic
as one of my general personal research interests.
I'll probably redo this page sometime in the future with
better explanations of what this is all about. This was
typed up in a hurry and without the proper planning,
so once I get more time I'll type up something more
presenatable and easy to understand.
Thanks! And as always, don't hesitate to email
for any questions comments or thoughts!
ric299@sdf.org
ric299