Date: Sun, 28 Apr 2013 08:21:40 -0400
From: chathammatters
Subject: Anonymity
There are many examples of anonymity in publication throughout history. Here are two famous examples from our founding fathers:
Publius, a pseudonym representing the trio of James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay in the Federalist Papers.
Silence Dogood, a pseudonym representing Benjamin Franklin in his younger years while working at his brother’s newspaper.
Here are some very long lists of other famous examples of pen names and pseudonyms.
Pen Names: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_notable_pen_names
Pseudonyms: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_pseudonyms
To those who have argued against the use of pseudonyms in the Chatlist and elsewhere please show some consideration for your fellow Chatham residents. There are many who go to work each day and need to maintain friendly relationships with other employees and their employers. In some work environments you are perfectly free to express your personal and political views, yet in other workplaces it would be highly inadvisable.
Consider the following example: You are fiscally conservative, you believe in free enterprise, you believe in limited government, and… you work at UNC. You know beyond certainty that you cannot express your political views at work or your career would be terminal or at best stagnant, it is an overtly hostile workplace. You do have an outlet available to you, the Chatlist!! But you cannot use your real name or your email address so you create a Pseudonym.
Of course most work environments aren’t like the mono-culture we find in universities these days, most companies have a mix of political persuasions that look like the overall population. But still, many are uncomfortable talking about politics at work for fear of disrupting working relationships and even friendships.
You may be retired. You may work in a place where your view is the predominant view in your work environment. But have some consideration for those in environments which are difficult.
A fronte praecipitium a tergo lupi,
Chatham Matters