Comments on: When Anonymity Fails http://www.plannedobsolescence.net/when-anonymity-fails/ falling indelibly into the past Sat, 05 Jul 2008 02:16:46 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 By: Frank Midler http://www.plannedobsolescence.net/when-anonymity-fails/#comment-852 Frank Midler Sun, 28 Aug 2005 19:53:49 +0000 http://www.new.plannedobsolescence.net/?p=417#comment-852 <p>A paraphrase would have been boring--and would not have gotten the point across, as the shock of that message is partly what makes my point. </p> <p> I think you--like many of the anti-Tribbleites--mistake practical advice for moral admonition. It’s not an issue of what’s “good” and what’s “bad” but what will help one’s career and what will harm it. The institution in question in my column has already done enough to harm my career (and my bank account), so I’m not too worried about repurcussions. </p> A paraphrase would have been boring–and would not have gotten the point across, as the shock of that message is partly what makes my point.

I think you–like many of the anti-Tribbleites–mistake practical advice for moral admonition. It’s not an issue of what’s “good” and what’s “bad” but what will help one’s career and what will harm it. The institution in question in my column has already done enough to harm my career (and my bank account), so I’m not too worried about repurcussions.

]]> By: KF http://www.plannedobsolescence.net/when-anonymity-fails/#comment-851 KF Sat, 27 Aug 2005 21:45:09 +0000 http://www.new.plannedobsolescence.net/?p=417#comment-851 <p>Frank, I do take your point, but only as far as it goes.  Yes, you couldn’t *change* the facts, but there’s no particular reason why you had to include the message itself, in its entirety.  A paraphrase would likely have gotten the point across, without setting off my radar. </p> <p> But this is neither here nor there.  As I said, I actually rather liked your column.  My point was less about your column in particular, except as an illustrative example, than about the irony of Tribble’s accusations, about the potential for impropriety in bloggers airing departments’ dirty laundry, appearing in an pseudonymous Chronicle column.  Why, in the airing of dirty laundry, are Chronicle columns good and blogs bad? </p> Frank, I do take your point, but only as far as it goes.  Yes, you couldn’t *change* the facts, but there’s no particular reason why you had to include the message itself, in its entirety.  A paraphrase would likely have gotten the point across, without setting off my radar.

But this is neither here nor there.  As I said, I actually rather liked your column.  My point was less about your column in particular, except as an illustrative example, than about the irony of Tribble’s accusations, about the potential for impropriety in bloggers airing departments’ dirty laundry, appearing in an pseudonymous Chronicle column.  Why, in the airing of dirty laundry, are Chronicle columns good and blogs bad?

]]> By: Frank Midler http://www.plannedobsolescence.net/when-anonymity-fails/#comment-850 Frank Midler Sat, 27 Aug 2005 20:18:04 +0000 http://www.new.plannedobsolescence.net/?p=417#comment-850 <p>KF- you’re not exactly an outsider, so the worries you raise don’t exactly apply to people like you, who are or have been at that particular institution or who have close friends there. On another of your points, The Chronicle is a newspaper and not a blog--I could have chosen less “metaphorically appropriate” pseudonyms, but I don’t see what real difference that would have made. I couldn’t change facts, including the exact wording of the message and other details of the case. </p> KF- you’re not exactly an outsider, so the worries you raise don’t exactly apply to people like you, who are or have been at that particular institution or who have close friends there. On another of your points, The Chronicle is a newspaper and not a blog–I could have chosen less “metaphorically appropriate” pseudonyms, but I don’t see what real difference that would have made. I couldn’t change facts, including the exact wording of the message and other details of the case.

]]> By: gzombie http://www.plannedobsolescence.net/when-anonymity-fails/#comment-849 gzombie Thu, 25 Aug 2005 01:10:05 +0000 http://www.new.plannedobsolescence.net/?p=417#comment-849 <p>I recognized the part of the column about the inadvertent “ridiculous assholes” email. </p> <p> I had the same thought you did: “Why make such a fuss over blogs when something like this is going to reach such a larger audience?” </p> I recognized the part of the column about the inadvertent “ridiculous assholes” email.

I had the same thought you did: “Why make such a fuss over blogs when something like this is going to reach such a larger audience?”

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