One of the problems w/anonymity is that it encourages negative behavior. When I was a kid we'd play on the cb radio...and we'd harass people...total strangers...cause trouble. Same concept. If your identity is known...this type of behavior is less likely to occur...as you have to be responsible/accountable for your actions.

Lack of responsibility/accountability is running rampant these days...and is not good...and should not be encouraged.

Isn't that what moderating is for. If someone is getting out of hand, 99% of message boards will issue warnings and/or suspensions/bans, not hand out that person's personal info to anyone who wants it.

quid Pro quo
 

I could see why it annoys the people who use their real name on here to have to argue with a guy named "T206Fart". But my only point is that T206Fart and Leon Luckey are both equally "real" to me.

Sportscardtheory, T206 Collector and others: Several years ago the late Joe P. and I began a hostile exchange that sadly was never resolved. I remember I was away for the weekend and came home to a bunch of emails asking me why Joe P. attacked me so viciously. I had to get on the board to see what it was about.

And while it's no fun to get into a nasty argument with anyone, the one thing that bothered me the most was I had absolutely no idea who it was. He then used the named tobacco-r-us and nothing more. No matter how many times I asked him to reveal himself he wouldn't, but the attacks continued. He knew exactly who I was, but I had no idea who my adversary was. Do you think that is fair? Finally, after about two weeks somebody emailed me and identified him. Turns out he was an old customer who I had recently reunited with through one of my auctions. Don't you think I had a right in that situation to know his name?

Not in my opinion. If he was out of line, then he should have been "moderated". If you were both in a heated discussion, then who's to say you didn't start it just so you can get his info (strictly hypothetical). And what happened when you found out who he was? I don't understand why a person's personal info needs to be plastered all over the board just because you want it to be. (my tone is just general curiosity and not inflammatory)

This is obviously a very personal issue to you. And I am sympathetic to the unique facts of your argument with Joe P.

I think you feel exposed on here because you have always used your real name and a lot of people in the industry know you personally and professionally. Sitting in your shoes from the spotlight, I would certainly want the light shined on everyone ese.

But when I came on here, from day 1, I never wanted to post my name publicly or learn the real life info of anyone else; in nearly a decade on here I've never met member (except 2 or 3 extremely brief "here you go/thanks" in person card trades). Viewing the world from where I sit in the shade, I could care less about "real" names. And I understand and respect the importance of not being easily Google-able by, e.g., a current or future employer.

Do you know that the next time you apply for a job somewhere that they will Google you and see all of your posts on here?

Or that Michael O'Keefe might write a blog about you?

Why would you expose yourself to that?

No, I didn't start it at all. I was away for the weekend and he posted during that time. His beef was I hijacked somebody's thread which I technically did, but it was another board member who started the digression and I responded to it. Nevertheless, when I did find out it was somebody I had been friendly with in the past it affected me differently than if it were a total stranger.

We probably need to agree that we will continue to disagree on this point. And it's no big deal. But I do believe that if you post anonymously you pretty much have carte blanche to say whatever you want, no matter how outrageous and insulting it may be. You can lie, boast, curse people out, do whatever you please and nobody will ever know it's you. But if you put your name out it will hold you to a higher standard. You will be more careful with what you say. I do believe this, and I realize you may not. No hard feelings either way.

google
 

If you don't want to be googled, use a "." or a "_" in your name, how hard is that?

Your assumption is that the only Googling to be concerned about is when the search engine finds the name you used when making posts.

Agreed to respectfully disagree. I personally don't want anyone that I don't know having my personal info, but that's just me. Personal security and safety is far more important to me than someone's feelings on a message board. The internet is now a weapon, and there are a lot of looses cannons out there. Leon keeps bringing up that nothing has ever happened to him in so many years, but he is only one person. Nothing serious has happened to me either, but what about all the people that something HAS happened to. The world doesn't start and stop at our own personal experiences. I do understand that this is a privately owned and run board and we all must follow the rules or leave, so it's not an issue to me any longer. I'm just cordially discussing my opinions on the matter. : )

Well you do have the right to remain anonymous here. The trade off is you can't make personal attacks or get involved in very controversial discussions. Do you at least think that is fair? Do you think it's fair to go after someone when that individual doesn't know who you are, but you know exactly who he is?

maybe i'm dreaming
 

But I'd like the Board to be comfortable for famous/public figures with great collections to contribute.

Some of the best collectors want to limit their public exposure. Force a "real" name out of them and they'll never come on here.

I believe there are a few members of this board that have world class collections & give their full name out.

I'll agree with you if you'll acknowledge that I don't know you any better than I know Sportscardtheory and if either of you attack me, you'd still both be d1cks -- even if your "real" name is Barry.

Like Charlie Sheen, Keith Olbermann, Dmitri Young, Tom Candiotti, etc. etc.....

But you do know me. We've communicated on the board for years, you've gotten my auction catalogs, doesn't that count for something? We haven't met in person but I feel I at least know something about who you are (as well as that mysterious name). But I haven't a clue who sportscardtheory is. He prefers it that way, and so be it.

Clearly there are differing opinions on this issue. No big deal.

I'm only here for discussion. That's the big difference for me. If I was here trading and selling, then I would be fine with my name being out there. But I'm only here to learn about and discuss pre-war cards. My name and personal information is of no importance to anyone here.

Yes sportcardstheory, but your rhetoric crossed the line on the T202 Joe Jackson thread. You made a few nasty comments (please don't ask me to find them on a 512 post thread). So if you really are here only to learn, you have to be more careful with what you say.

That is actually a very fair statement IMO. and honestly, should stop the bickering.

I did say to learn and discuss. I am very opinionated and there is nothing wrong with that. I honestly still don't believe that I crossed any lines with anything I said in that thread. Most if not all of the "questionable" posts I made were in response to something I found questionable myself. Rarely if ever do I get inflammatory without being provoked in some way.

Sure we know each other on that level. And if that makes you comfortable communicating with me that's cool.

open to debate but not change......
 

I pretty much feel the way Barry does. I don't care what other boards do. This is a great subject but the rules aren't changing. Just realize that if you get into heated discussions your name will be given to others, at least privately, if asked. Maybe this board isn't the right place for everyone. At least you know where I/we stand though. regards

Is Charlie Sheen a member here? If so that's wicked cool! (Charlie, big fan of your work!)

My thoughts on this is that if you are going to conduct yourself here as a lady or gentleman then it doesn't matter whether a real or user name is employed.


If you are not going to conduct yourself in that manner, then perhaps you should go discuss things with the bouncer at a local watering hole and have him kick your butt, because I'm certain that Leon has better things to do.

No idea -- however, if he was I'm pretty sure he'd rather not be talking about his career or personal life on a public internet chatboard.

I'd like Charlie to be able to come on here as M101-5Collector and be free to speak his mind about cards without having to address his non-hobby life.

On the bike mailing list the lack on anonymity works very well. As the list owner puts it - picture it as if we're all hanging out in my garage talking about bikes. And don't say anything in print that you wouldn't say in person-

There are heated discussions, and there are guys that just won't ever get along. But even the arguments are pretty civil. The radio group on AOL that I started with was moderated, but barely, and the total anonymity led to lots of childish stuff.

I can see a need for some people to be somewhat anonymous. Someone who's a public figure - Yeah, I can see if Charlie Sheen was here he might get a lot of the typical schmoozing requests that I hear celebs are constantly subjected to.

And maybe if someone is in witness protection they might want to keep a low profile.

I can even sort of see how someone might want to be separated from their comments for job/professional reasons. Just a hint, if posting from work is going to get you fired, DON'T DO IT!
But I've got to ask if a prospective employer is going to have a problem with something said on a baseball card board doesn't that seem a bit weird. I mean if you were going for a job as a grader or one with a card company I can see it, but for anyone else?
"Oh, this guy doesn't like graded cards. I bet he's a lousy accountant"
(Not aimed at anyone in particular, just picked an issue and career)
Makes no sense at all, and for me it would be a sign that my employment there would be pretty brief anyway.


T206 collector - I'm interested in what you think you could find. Feel free to google me and report back what you've learned. If you find anything that's actually of any potential use/harm I'll be convinced. I think that about the worst you'll find is that I often lie about my birthday on signups just in case someones data gets compromised.


Steve B

Your potential employer could find it very weird, it's not like one person does the hiring, usually a whole panel does and the slightest thing that seperates you from the next canidate is often the difference. Right now for every job there are 10-200 people applying. Many people find collecting baseball cards strange, much like comic books. If they realized how much someone was spending on cardboard they might think you were insane. This may be an extreme case but could happen, I think that it is just a personal choice, some people are private and others not so much,that's all. Leon has everyones info so it isn't really private anyways.

I tend more to agree with Barry and Leon; however I certainly see the argument from both sides.

However, I have known just about all of the parties I have dealt with on the BST and that is how it should work there. Coincidentally the BST is where I have made most of my hobby friends.

Rob

This is a standard response to invasion of privacy claims: "I have nothing to hide, so why should you?"

I am confused-do people really make deals on the B/S/T and still remain anonymous? Any time I've bought or traded cards with anyone on the board I've given my full name,address,and I'm pretty sure even my phone # too. I don't see how one person would be comfortable sending the other cards or money if the person wasn't willing to give a name? :confused:

Clayton

People send payment, I send them the item. We know each other's names at that point, what is the problem?

You need to have some trust that if people find your name out , they won't go digging around and stuff for dirt. I think overall Leon's idea of giving out a name if requested if there is a real heated issue is fine too.

For me, I like this board, and reading the diff topics/seeing the wonderful items you guys have. But, like another board I belong to, that has nothing to do w the hobby, there is a lot of childish stuff too, and the occassional big shot and whiner too. I guess it goes with the territory on basically any site.

Scott.

a better way of saying it
 

If I make a trade with you, you'll learn my name and a mailing address. I've made plenty of deals on here and so many of you all know my real name. I draw the line at being in a fishbowl with a name tag on.

Well,
I think both sides have made very good points and I think Leon has found a very happy medium zone. Be any name you like, with very selective name revelations to individuals, not the board as a whole.
For me, I like the anonymity on the day to day posts for many of the reasons already here. While I do think identity theft is more likely at the local store, that doesn't mean we should throw caution to the wind everywhere else. I do think it woud be easier for those famous collectors to participate knowing they don't have to expose themselves.
BUT on the flip side, I do disagree with T206 collector in that people acting like jerks is much more likely with a psuedonym, than with a real name. This is why, knowing who we are talking to when there is a big argument, I feel, is a deterrent to personal attacks.
JMHO
Mark

A few years ago, someone that was not a part of my hobby life started asking me questions about things I'd posted on this board. I found that incredibly creepy, since I'd never even told this person that I collected.

When I googled my name, I discovered that my posts here were easily searchable. This person had googled me and apparently felt that the fact that my posts here were public, that gave them the right to insert themselves into this part of my life.

I found that it was pretty easy to prevent that from happening just by sticking a period inbetween two letters of my last name. Now my posts here don't show up in google searches.

At the same time, I like that people know who they're talking with when I'm engaging them in threads here. And I like knowing who I'm talking with as well. This is a small hobby, and we've seen plenty of situations where anonymous posts here turn out to be posts that are driven by an agenda.

I almost always take a post more seriously when I know the name of the person making it.

-Al

I agree with Al dot C, I can't articulate why, but to me it makes a difference knowing who someone really is.

Me too Jeff, huge fan of Charlie's!

Is it calm enough to do the "my phone number is 867-5309" joke yet? :)

thats means your real id is richard jenny! lol

Crap, I didnt think about that!

that's because you don't live on my planet! it's special, we wear tin foil hats!

be careful Jim D, you don't want to let everyone know where you live.
We all might want to come for a visit:D

The insertion of a "." or a "_" or other character in a name is well-known, and it may not prevent a savvy searcher from finding your posts with a bit of trial and error.

put on your foil hat on come on over!!!

Sure. But if somebody's going to go through that much to find me, they're going to find me anyway.

But it masks my posts from the casual associate that's just prying in places they don't belong.

-Al

I'm partially exposed... ;)

too much info!!!

yikes
 

Yikes, I am fully exposed but people think I am only half exposed. I think I should be worried!! :o

Nope, I have stuff I'd prefer stay hidden. I just don't put it out anywhere. Anything I make public I'm glad to have public.

What I'm saying is that if you can find anything I'd prefer kept private simply from my name, it's possibly worth the exposure to know how it may have become accessible. That way I can change my proceedures. It's not as easy to get info as they make it seem on NCIS.

Steve B

This is really me.....



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EdeCPGNRjOU

I have no issues with having my name on this site. I realized the rules when I signed up for this place and Leon wasn't holding a gun to my head forcing me to join, I did it on my own free will understanding the rules.

It's really not hard to find out information about people. I did a search on my fathers name on some site recently. What it pulls up is the address of the person, phone number, average annual household income, and some other nonsense that should not be out there but is. And this was free, not one of those pay for information sites. On top of that, I just know of many other ways that people are able to find out about others if they want too.

What I do enjoy is that out of the forums in which I am a member (all of 3), this is the best one. Not just because it's pre-war, but the people, for the most part, respect one another and have actual civil conversations about cards, collecting, Seinfeld.....etc etc etc. The other two sites I'm on (anonymous ones), have much more in the way of juvenile tendencies and moronic threads/posts. There are great people on those other forums but a good sized percentage of people that hang around there just like to act like morons because nobody knows who they are.

I'm not really sure if my post even means anything or if it's going anywhere so I'll just stop.