Anonymity

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Posted By: petecld

I started a new thread so topics are separete and poeple can read only what they want.

Julie,
You have confused "bone of contention" and "common courtesy". When two people meet, don't mature adults say something like, "Hello, I'm (Your name here)" with a conversation to follow. What's wrong with that? The threads here turn into conversations at times, is it asking to much for the people involved to know exactly who they are addressing?

"bimmie"
What I find disturbing is people who use fake names and fake email addresses as you have admitted to doing. Criminals use aliases and scum selling fakes on eBay use fake names and accounts to keep ahead of the honest people who out them. Good company you put yourself in. How do you think we all got to know each other? By lying? Not the long term friendships that are formed. Is that how you start of your personal relationships? By lying about your name? That's sad. Asking a question about Baseball cards on this board is or should be and innocent act. What's wrong with using your name? Even if it is just a casual occurrence. Why is it you don't want people to know who you are? If you are that paranoid about someone being able to find out who you are I offer the same advice to you as I did to Julie, stay off the internet. I don't mean that harshly, it's a sincere statement because so precious little on the internet is private these days and most of it is much more covert then this board utilizes.

Agree or disagree with his approach to responding at least when Mike Wentz uses this board he openly IDs himself. Why can't you?

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Posted By: Julie

...someone has had a bad expereience with doing these things. So far (in a total of three threads!) nobody has spoken of one.

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Posted By: runscott

I initially required "membership" for the non-baseball forum, to avoid this problem. The membership application required that the applicant provide an email address (that would then be system-verified) and a short explanation of their interest in the forum. You would be amazed how few applicants provided a valid email address! And only about half the applicants provided any identifying information whatsoever. So guess what - they got rejected. It's pretty simple. At Elliot's suggestion I have since opened that forum to everyone, in order to increase participation. We'll see how that works out.

But I have come around to Elliot's way of thinking - this forum needs to be accessible to everyone, and an "elitist" feel to it would be counter-productive. This puts more work on the moderator, but as long as Bill doesn't mind I think it's the best way to go. Anyone who doesn't want to play by the rules doesn't get to play.

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Posted By: leon

Pete makes great points. How many times can you get into a friendly argument and not need to be known? Your argument holds absolutely NO weight if you are anonymous (at least in my book). Most of us know each other and are friends. I see no problem with wanting to know who we are arguing with. If you are so paranoid that you don't want to be known then just keep lurking and don't argue Btw, for the last 4 years I have had my work phone # on my about me Ebay page.....I am out here and easily accessible if anyone wants to talk. As for someone coming over and stealing my cards.....good luck......regards all

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Posted By: runscott

I have tried to steal Leon's cards many times - the penguins at the guard booth must be well-paid.

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Posted By: leon

and I thought that was another Alaskan armadillo burrowing in my front yard....The ice gotcha, huh?

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Posted By: bimmy

about lying, as i pointed out my email address works and while its not the one i check the most i do check it 2-3x a week. i did not put any personal information for this forum, so i have not lied on this board. where i do put down b.s. is for random pages, examples are maybe sgc so i can check their pop report and tv guide. ive done and do a lot of surfing over the years and i dont feel comfortable putting down my real info because of spam (i use yahoo and if i dont delete my bulk mail atleast once a week my mailbox gets full) and i dont want my info floating around on 500 sign up pages, im not using my real email so why use real info. iam not affraid of someone tracking me down to steal my cards, they are at the bank and not even my local one. hell i havnt even locked my door in years. i have only been on 1 other message board and actual identity was never a big deal, everyone used a handle that was not their real name. i see no reason to put down my home address, but i will fill out some of the information on the member page. oh, my name is dave lash

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Posted By: jay behrens

We aren't looking for a detailed personal history, just who you are. All someone has to act like they are at a 12 step meeeting and say "Hi! My name is ..... and I am a vintge card junkie"

I am just as protective of personal info as anyone else when it comes to the internet and have been using it longer than probably anyone else here. I first started using it in 1988, long before there were any pretty pictures and you were a god if you had a 4.8k modem.

After going thru bankrutcy recently, I found out just how good my precautions are at hiding myself form probing eyes. I needed to have a credit report as part of the filing. The only problem was, that there was nothing there because I've lived on cash for 12 years and have no credit cards, just a debit card which does not get reported to credit agencies. I also tended to work jobs that paid cash under the table and all my bills, phone, rent, etc were in other people's names. My lawyer also tried to do an internet search on me the most recent personal info he could come up with was my house I owned in Sacramento 12 yers ago.

If you want to hide yourself on the internet, the single best thing you can do is set up a Yahoo account and give out that addy for sites that require an email addy to sign up. Then check back every few days and empty the spam box. I can't let it go more than 3 days without maxing out my account. I get 500-700 pieces of spam every day.

As I mentioned in another post. The criminals you need to worry about are the ones that actually live near you, not the ones on the internet. The only internet ones that you really need to fear are thet ones that are looking to steal your SSN and things neeeded for identity theft.

Jay

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Posted By: s.slacks

Nice.

You think that I’m not credible posting on “controversial” subjects (like the fact that PSA gets more for its slabs) until you know my name, but you brazenly identify yourself as someone who hides his income from the government (tax evasion, which besides screwing honest taxpayers, is a crime) and then comes to the same government he’s been cheating for years and asks them to erase his debts and bail him out (bankruptcy protection).

You’re really adding a lot to the credibility of the board, Jay.

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Posted By: jay behrens

you do what you need to do to take care of your kid. Until you know my full life story, don't pass judgement on me. But then again, I don't really care what you have to say, since you are too much of a coward to identify yourself.

And as to the reason I had to file, since most businesses will don't offer affordable medical coverage if at all, or if they do, it's no better than private insurance, are you going to pay my medical coverage? I had a serious medical problem last winter. The doctors had no clue what was wrong with me, why it happened, or how to cure it.

Trust me, the last thing I wanted to do was file, but thanks to our wonderful American way of life, I was left with no choice. Now I get bombarded with credit card offers and offers to help repair my credit, lmao!

Jay

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Posted By: runscott

Jay is being humble. Last year he developed a rare form of "Mad Card Disease" that turned his brains to sponge. Fortunately his brother Lee and him were nearly a perfect match brain-wise, so Lee was able to donate half of his brain to Jay.

Lee, I told you you should have kept the bottom half.

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Posted By: Lee Behrens

He got my right cheek, he keeps telling me I have more brains down there so that's what he got. For some reason it was very compatiable.

As for Slacks, I think you have heard from many contributors that with out indentity you have little credibilty, what more does it take. If it is asking too much be a lurker and nobody needs to know your here. Heck, Go to a Lord of the Rings forum and you could be Greemer Wormtongue and no one would care.

I believe that are former forum owner put it the best, this is "our" house and you play by "our" rules. If you don't agree with them move on and start your own forum.

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Posted By: jay behrens

He made a good observation the other day, how can I call him a dumbarse when I keep saying he has poop for brains.

Jay

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Posted By: s.slacks

Jay wrote: <<are you going to pay my medical coverage?>>

Um, I think I already did - did you think that your medical obligations just "went away"?

And Jay, I can sympathize with your feelings about medical coverage. No one, not even vintage card collectors, should be without decent health coverage. In my opinion it's one of our country's biggest problems.

My point was that, didn't you feel it was a LITTLE ironic that the government allowed you to erase all those debts -- the same government that you have been cheating for all these years? Or is that okay if you are "taking care of your kid"?

Because if it is, there are a lot of working poor who pay their fair share of taxes who would like to get the same "tax relief" you gave yourself.

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Posted By: jay behrens

yawn, another whiney anon post. Until such time that you identify yourself, I have no reason to justify anything to you.

Or in simpler terms, you are persona nongrata until such time that you idenify yourself.

Jay

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Posted By: s.slacks

Jay, of course you don't have to justify anything to me.

I was just pointing out the irony of you saying that you can't trust me until you now my name, when you volunteer that you commited criminal tax evasion for many years before declaring bankruptcy. I'm sorry the irony escapes you.

Good time (for me) to end this thread. Be sure to mention again how since you don't know my full name, nothing I say matters.

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Posted By: s.slacks

Lee, I AM playing by "our rules." If you check the forum rules, you can see that I follow them to the letter.

If you want a forum where everyone gives you their full name before every post, take your own advice and YOU start your own. Who knows, maybe I'll join.

Until then, I will continue to follow the rules of the forum and post whenever I feel like it. If you don't want to read my posts, don't. But why waste everyone's time telling them how you plan to not read my posts (and then go responding to them)?

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Posted By: Bill

s.slacks has borne the brunt of this anonymity discussion (perhaps that should be in quotes...) because he raised a question about graded card prices. I was also concerned that this might be a trolling post, but I quickly learned that it wasn't: he has contacted me and has provided references from both Scott F. and Greg S. Those should be good enough credentials for anyone, I think. Bimmy has contributed to several posts and done it very well, I think.

I don't want these guys to feel singled out over this topic. There's a precedent on this board for not providing a full name when posting for the first time. Some would like to change this policy, but there are many others who wouldn't, as it may be less intimidating to new posters.

I'd like to stay the course for now, unless there is an obvious change in the nature of the posts here. Trolling will still get the summary execution it deserves.

Bill

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Posted By: runscott

this is the same "last word" as your last "last word".

What we are talking about here is the rules of this forum - Jay abides by them.