Speaking for myself. Two reasons I don’t read posts from anonymouses.
One, I am pressed for time, I can’t read everything, and whether it is fair or not, handles let me decide whose posts I’m going to read and whose I’m just going to skim. There have been enough anonymouses that I haven’t found useful to read, that “anonymous” goes in my skim/skip category.
Two, how hard it is to type the letter Z or whatever into the author box? Then why do people not do it? Someone who doesn’t have the courtesy, or someone who perhaps is trying to sow confusion — I’m just not interested in reading what they have to say.
Sorry if I’m just cranky this morning.
will i be one of the living or the dead?
We still don’t know who you are when you type a name. Make something up, you are still one of several millions, billions, of people. It helps with continuity. If you say something worth repeating, we can find it. Many of you have some good info, but we get confused as to who is who. No one here is trying to be mean, we are just trying to learn from each other.
I ignore most of the anonymouse posts. I cannot tell one anonymouse poster from another - that is if there are more than one. I get upset at anonymouse posting all those spams. It is sad when anonymouse wants to identify themselves with spam, insults, and so on. The percentage of useful and good anonymouse post is quite low. I just don’t have the time to go through them.
However, I must admit that every now and then I loose my cookies and loose my handle. But I always try to correct it and identify my posts.
Anon 3,250,000,000 – at 11:14 “will i be one of the living or the dead?”
No comprehende.
Could you please expound?
DennisC – at 11:41 “I ignore most of the anonymouse posts. I cannot tell one anonymouse poster from another - that is if there are more than one.”
Same here. I can hardly wait till the next version of this forum does away with anonymous postings.
Some of us occasionally forget to type in our names after clearing cookies, but to knowingly post as ‘anonymous’ time after time is just plain rude. I also dont talk to people on the phone who wont identify themselves.
there is that anti social, I’ve got to be different, thing… obviously several of the mous~s know perfectly well about handles. either they are choosing to stay anonymous or they are kind of saying “In Your Face, Wikian’s”
I know of no rule saying you have to pick a handle, but it’s mildly annoying to be dissed by a mous~
I ignore the anonymous I disagree with , and read the ones I agree with. That way, I can tell the difference.
Well, since we can’t read people’s minds, I’d say it’s really hard to say why different people make different choices, one being going by anonymous. Of course, we can always—and often do—make assumptions; doesn’t mean they’re right. Although I understand the reasons people don’t like anonymous posts, and to some extent I agree, personally I don’t think it’s such a big deal, and the frequent protests over anonymous posts seem to me far more a distraction, an interruption—a rudeness even—than the anonymous posts themselves.
Scaredy Cat-I appreciate your posts, but you really can’t champion these “scofflaws”. Sometime in the future we may have many more clicking on as anons. Confusion will prevail. Communication will be further impaired. And, who knows, some newbie might get something wrong, and it could be fatal. And it is a slap in the face to persist in such behavior through nice entreaties, some kidding, some harsh rebukes, and finally to a thread devoted to the problem. He (or she) is, in essence, saying “screw you”. Not nice.
Medical Maven at 13:08
A potentially “fatal” outcome for a newbie by someone posting as anonymous?
And “scofflaws”?
Your imagination is as limited as your capacity for courtesy.
I don’t care if posts are identified or not, personally. I’ve been actively on the internet for 17 years and have experienced all the highs and lows of a variety of online communities. If the anonymous post has decent content, I’m as happy to read it as I am someone who’s ego/personality/or whatever makes them feel secure about adopting and handle and sticking to it. There are reasons for being anonymous just as there are to ID oneself I’m not here to judge said reasons. i’m only here to judge content. Now posting as an anonymous troll, that’s quite a different story. But their style outs their intentions very quickly. All in all, I’ve seen relatively little anonymous trolling vs darn insightful posts from anonymous visitors.
Medical Maven all I am saying is that I think you are taking this a bit too seriously.
There really is no rule about handles, so scofflaw seems a bit harsh IMO, as does suggesting the content of anonymous post could be fatal to a newbie.
Lovelander-The anonymouses are just as trackable as the posters with handles. And unless you have been embroiled in a few of these threads such as I and others have in which points and meanings get thoroughly confused because we have two anons busting in and out, well then, you probably don’t see a problem. And I would like to think that fluwiki is better than the run-of-the-mill other sites in which manners are in short supply. Consideration of others is one of fluwiki’s hallmarks. and not a minor one, I might add.
Actuallly, Medical Maven, I’m well aware and have a good understanding of why such posts can be problematic. I have been a webmistress of a high-profile site for years and used to act as a message board moderator on a major internet provider. I honestly do see the big picture. I was only speaking for myself in that I, personally, am okay with such posts UNLESS the poster is trolling. Most online communities have a core group that posts the majority of the time and its great fun to get to know the personalities; handles certainly facilitate that process. But I won’t ignore a decent post just because the writer decides to be anonymous. I’ve found a lot of gems from just such posters during the months I’ve been on Fluwikie.
You’re right, manners rule.
don’t forget the forum rules:
http://www.fluwikie2.com/pmwiki.php?n=Main.Rules
Forum rules and suggestions:
14. We prefer that you pick a username while posting. Just put your unique choice in the ‘author’ box before you click ‘post’. This makes it easier for everyone else to follow the discussions coherently. If you choose to not do that, your post will appear under ‘anonymous’. While we have no objection to that and your remarks are equally welcome, just be aware that this does create problems for others and you may encounter the frustrations of others directed at the issue, and at other ‘anonymouses’ who may not be you. We do also ask all other forum participants to be patient with this issue. Registration and the use of a username will be required when we move to a new software platform.
The anonymous behavior is childish. This is “mostly” a community of adults who have a very civilized discourse with each other. You can be tracked by your IP. and other methods know to professionals. So, your identity is not secure by this choice. I have a simple test for societal behavior that allow me to quickly ck if an action of mine is right or wrong. I generalize that behavior i.e. “What if everyone behaved in the same manner? What would be the effect on the society I choose to live in.” Apply that standard to this wiki and you have your answer. It would not function at all. That has happened on threads here where this behavior has been chosen by more than one …mous.. at the same time. The thread did not work. I am sorry, but my conclusion is that if the IP shows one individual who will not choose a handle out of respect for the group, then ban them. We have so few rules here and they are applied very fairly. I personally would miss some of the insight and “single minded focus” of this person, but enough is enough. If this person wants to have their opinion heard, then anti-up. It is time to grow up.
Yes, even some of the simple minded people like me can figure how to get locations even when they are in Medicine Lodge Kansas or Florence,Mass :)
Just for the sake of continuity and to reduce confusion, I don’t see why it would take that much for an ‘anonymous’ to just pick a letter or number just for use for one thread they are posting on for one day only so that they can be distinguished from other commenters. The fact that they don’t indicates to me they have some kind of attitude, or haven’t figured out how posting sites work. All it takes is to fill in something on the Author line at the bottom of the post right under the comment section— maybe just even the days date or time started or any mix of letters of the alphabet or numbers. You can change it if you want to have another name for another thread, or leave it the same until your cookies clear. Or if you are on another computer than you usually use, you can type in anything that day. It’s so simple once you know how.
I don’t really understand why it would be a problem - surely we are all ‘anonymous’ on the internet? We can change username, even post under another person’s name if we wanted to. Isn’t the information being exchanged the important thing, not the name it is done under. In real life reputation is important because it isn’t something that can be easily shaken off, but online it is merely a case of highlight,type, enter. In some ways I prefer anonymous posters because it reminds me not to trust people that I think I ‘know’ just because I’ve seen that user name a few times.
If someone just has to be anonymous, I would rather they pick some name…any name…and just use it for that thread. This would help a lot in keeping points of view straight. The poster should use that same alias during the duration of the thread.
I,too, will be so relieved when we register. Yes, people can register more than once if multiple registrations to one ISP number are allowed.There are also an unlimited number of anonymous addresses available from some sites. Some forums have gone to the extent of banning all Yahoo, Hot Mail, and even Yahoo accounts. That would be sad to have to do that because of a few rogues.
Above should read:
Some forums have gone to the extent of banning all Yahoo, Hot Mail, and even AOL accounts.
Worried in Wales-If we had to contend with ten permutations of Tom DVM, where would we be?
Kidding aside, a certain level of trust and playing by the rules of the game is essential in any society, even an internet one. Otherwise, it soon degrades into a Tower of Babel, and it is kaput.
And “information” attached to a “name” through many months of online conversation tells you so much more than occasional “hit and runs” by a few anons on the prowl.
Worried in Wales – at 14:54
I don’t really understand why it would be a problem - surely we are all ‘anonymous’ on the internet?
It is a matter of continuity of thought (and courtesy).
Worried in Wales — If you have found an interesting thread, with interesting posts, by five or six people with the same name — anonymous— posting, it is hard to tell who says what once the ‘conversation’ starts. It becomes confusing, and ultimately annoying. It begins to look like one person talking to himself.
If each of the people were to just type on the “Author” line under the Comment section, using one each of “anonymous1, anonymous2, anonymous3, anonymous4 etc. it would let us know which of the 6 anonymouses are proposing and which are responding or rebuting.
There have been instances where one anonymous posts something. Somebody1 responds. A second anonymous agrees with Somebody1, but then anonymous (the first anonymous) does a further explanation. The Somebody1 agrees with the second anonymous, but disagrees with the first anonymous. Then somebody2 logs in, agrees with the first anonymous, disagrees with the second anonymous, and forgets to put his name in the author slot, relagating him to the same name ‘anonymous.’
Then he quickly posts his regular ‘handle’ and says hey, I am somebody2 that just posted as anonymous. So now you have 3 anonymouses, and you conflate their whole arguement into what is said by somebody2, who you know had previously held completely different ideas of virus control than you had learned in your biology 101 classes, so you discount the points made by not only anonymous3(or somebody2) but the first two anonymouses that had given you lifesaving information on how to clear the air of aerosoles with a new filter/UV light.
During the epidemic, your wife suggests plugging in a special air purifying UV light filter device, and you discount it because it will drain your solar panel and you had thought you know it didn’t work, so you unplug it, you all get flu, and everybody in your family dies.
All because you didn’t keep your anonymice straight.
Keep in mind that some of us are not professional microbiologists or medical types, and are struggling with understanding what is happening; the extra confusion of multiple anonymice is seriously confusing.
Medical Maven,
I appreciate your posts too. It’s interesting, because in the past we’ve exchanged some “lively” words. (Private property rights vs. the common good, and guns, to name just two.) But you always stuck to the issues and I never felt insulted (except maybe the time you accused me of proselytizing ;-)).
One thing that characterizes fluwiki above the others is civility. It might be a tad more sedate, but it is a great deal easier on the nerves. I personally don’t follow all the threads,just dip in here and there as I am very relaxed in my personal approach to Avian Flu. There is a lot in my attitude that comes from personal insights which are not quantifiable for others. For ex. I read somewhere that there are mouse studies that suggest that having basic flu shots will have some beneficial effects against the Avian Flu. I did not earmark that study or even read it in full, therefore would be irresponsible to pass it on as a real possibility. It has been factored into my own way of thinking about the threat and makes me, and only me, relaxed. We all pick and choose in such a manner. Some need solid facts, others look to the more scientific members of the wiki for insights. I don’t. I live by instincts. I can see how a horde of annoymice would annoy and gum up the works, especially if you do look up to some one or another of the more informed posters. Anyone seeing my handle, Diana, would know it is not solid, but something nebulous. I limit my own reading here. I want to balance my optimism with something grittier and possibly more realistic. I don’t bother with anonymice, and I know where I want to pause to sip what nectar, like a bee that sticks to one flower once it has decided on what it wants to gather.
Those who post as ‘anonymous’ dont get as confused as most of the rest of us do since they know their own posts, so they dont understand the problem. Unless there are 3 anonymous posters on a thread.
Thank goodness these sorts of conversations will no longer be needed when fluwiki forum makes it move.
Getting rid of the anonymice will be one less stressor in these trying times.
some of the anonymous’ are just becoming downright obnoxious and disruptful. Trollish. And… starting to really piss me off. Of course we are all anonymice with our tag-names. But somewhere there is just some integrity involved. or not.
Dude at 14:27 - I have a simple test for societal behavior that allow me to quickly ck if an action of mine is right or wrong. I generalize that behavior i.e. “What if everyone behaved in the same manner? What would be the effect on the society I choose to live in.”
I think “What if everyone behaved in the same manner?” can be a very useful question. Perhaps especially to ask of oneself. I don’t know, though, if it’s the only question we should ask. I don’t know if it’s the “best” question we should ask. Especially when it comes to other people.
We could also ask questions such as “What if some behaved differently (non-abusively, of course)?” “What if we allowed for diversity of choice?” “What if we accepted our differences?” “What if we bore our own discomfort instead of asking other people to bear theirs?”
There are many, many threats in this world, and I think we can face them stronger if we stop viewing non-threatening differences as threatening, thereby allowing us to better focus our forces on the real threats in this world.
anonymous – at 14:52 bgw, do you think they are biased ?? Their business is their reputation. They were not biased in the past, why should they suddenly start with these bonds ? Nature has its laws and is described by mathematical models using _numbers_ .
>Yes, in this case I think they would be severely biased. If there is a monstrous pandemic, such as 1918, their business is pretty much likely to be mostly kaput, along with the rest of the economy.
Numbers do not allow you to predict which mutations will occur. As I said before, you think in numbers and do not take many important aspects of the problem into consideration. Most other people do not think this way. When more than one eminent expert has labeled the virus in question
Sorry, only part of the message posted. Here’s the rest:
When more than one eminent expert has labeled the virus in question as the worst flu virus they have ever seen, I’m going to think that it is LIKELY to be a severe pandemic.
If you dissuade even one person from prepping as much as they are able, then yes, you will be morally responsible for a death in the event of a severe pandemic.
Two things bother me about this site at times: 1) The ridiculous prejudice a few people have against those who chose not to make up a name for themselves when they post, and the silly schoolyard style name-calling (i.e., anonymouse) that goes along with it. And 2) The brittle defensiveness exhibited by a few Flu Wikians when someone dares suggest that the bird flu pandemic MIGHT be a low probability or MIGHT not happen at all. There is pressure to conform here.
Why not welcome an occasional devil’s advocate or someone with another opinion? Instead, if someone suggests that this horrible disaster MIGHT not happen, some here seem to pout and stomp their feet as though they are five years old and someone told them Christmas was being cancelled this year. Many act as though someone wants to take something AWAY from them if it’s suggested the horrible disaster might not show up. Frankly, that give me the creeps. Are some people’s lives so empty that the adrenaline rush of disaster is preferable to the flat line of their everyday lives? I hate to think so.
Otherwise, this is a great place and I’m glad it exists.
Scaredy Cat at-12:58
I AGREE!!!!!! Makes no difference to me what name you want to use. I ready everybody, because everybody has something to say. I have never considered myself a closed minded person, and I’m not going to start now. I’ve learned, that you NEVER KNOW WHERE YOUR GOING TO FIND A GRAIN OF WISDOM. That’s why I read what everybody has to say, whether I agree or not.
However, if you wish to be anonymous, it would help if you would put a distinctive mark afterwards. I can understand how 4 or 5 people using this would be confusing.
modesto – at 16:19
>No, we Wikians do NOT want a pandemic or any other disaster to happen. What we do NOT want to see is anything that dissuades others from prepping to the best of their ability. If posters that think a mild pandemic is more likely would just state that a severe pandemic is also likely as part of their polemic, and concede that everyone should be prepared for the worst, just in case it happens. Then that would be fine. They are entitled to their opinion.
But when I see posts that are likely to dissuade my friends and loved ones from taking adequate precautions, then I OBJECT. If people would just stock as much dry food as they can afford, they have a chance of survival in a worst case scenario. (Which IS likely to happen, in my opinion,and that of many others). This is not an academic discussion for us. It effects us at the deepest parts of our being.
Some people who post as anonymous are good, strong, well-known posters around the flu forums. However, I think they may feel that this notoriety causes their personalities to be evaluated sometimes, rather than their argument, so they revert to the anonymous handle.
Heddiecalifornia at 14:37 has the perfect solution to the problem when she suggests: “Just for the sake of continuity and to reduce confusion, I don’t see why it would take that much for an ‘anonymous’ to just pick a letter or number just for use for one thread they are posting on for one day only so that they can be distinguished from other commenters.”
That would seem to be a fair compromise. And, it really would help people to concentrate on the argument and it’s logic, rather than having the distraction of keeping track of the opinions of various anonymouses. (Is that a word - “anonymouses”?)
I have no problem telling one anonymous from the others. :)
Pixie - at 17:54 - I agree 100% with everything you’ve said.
I guess I am one of the anonymouses to which you refer. However due to where I work and what I do, I have to be very careful. There are two people on this site who know who I really am and after reading their posts for a long time decided to trust them with my real name. However I do use the number so that others can follow my though process and understand where I am coming from. I can only hope that I have helped the hive mind. I have prepped my family for every thing from the Swine Flu (the one that never happened) to the Mother of all Spanish Flu’s (Civilization Buster). If it never happens great, if it does I am ready. I think this is where most on the Wikie are really coming from.
Well…I think all anonymouses should change their names to Darryl ;0)
For this I am anonymous. What is with the spammer? A week of this and they are still hanging in there? Does it affect the workings of the wiki?
Anon451, actually, you are different from the other anon’s because you have # attached. Again it’s for continuity, not identification. Many of us do not want to reveal who we really are. That’s fine, but it helps to find info, quote someone or ask addional questions.
Every one needs a handle.
There are certain posts that I pay more careful attention to - such as those by Monotreme and Okieman. Others I recognize as someone that always has a wry sense of humor to make me smile.
The “handles” help us identify and connect various posts to an individual- which builds the sense of community.
Like any group that sees itself outside of (or above) ‘normal’ society, where those not part of the group are portrayed as wrong or stupid for not following its doctrines, this web site has more than its fair share of those who would become the people that turn up in the middle of the night to deal with dissenters.
It also has more than its fair share of altruistic people who wish to share information and help others.
Statements wrapped in candy (or courtesy as it is sometimes referred to here) are often not as innocent as they seem. Countless debates have been stifled because of a zealot’s pressure for others to conform with his or her ideas and I will give a million dollars to the first person that actually admits to the fact that they are just a little bit excited about the prospect of a pandemic - purely human nature but it says a lot that when this is suggested, everyone becomes oh so outraged.
Nom de Plume
months ago I admitted just that on the OK forum but no-one seemed to notice. - “Its almost as if I sub-consciously wish it would get started, to stop the wondering, the waiting.
Or do people just want to be right and are tired of being laughed at or called crazy?
dc: What are you going to do with that million dollars you were just promised by Nom de Plume (actually Nom de Keyboard)?
dc: What preps are you going to buy with that million dollars you were just promised by Nom de Plume (actually Nom de Keyboard)?
Spirit in the Wind at 10:20, yes Darryl, Darryl, and Darryl, I love it.
Even with using a handle, we`re still pretty anonymous . Except for the few who have told us about where they live, what they do,or offer expert help, we are just a bunch of folks with the same goal, getting through this with ourselves and our families intact.
There is only 1 person, who rarely posts here that I know, I gave birth to her.LOL
The rest of you are greatly appreciated, but I could walk past you on the street, and not know it.
So, I feel that adopting a handle is just good manners. Good manners can get you a long ways, as my dearly departed G-ma said.
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