Anonymity and the Net (standard:non fiction, 298 words)
Author: denis holzhauser	Added: Aug 09 2001	Views/Reads: 3536/1	Story vote: 0.00 (0 votes)
An opinion piece

Before the yin,yined or the yang,yanged,Robert Louis Stephenson wrote a
classic on the duplicitous nature of man."Dr.Jeckle and Mr.Hyde" is the 
timeless tale of good and evil in ourselves,evident everytime you or I 
return to our obsession,the internet.My needing to be out of step is 
apparent immediately.I do the unthinkable,I use my name on the 
net.Conclusions,mostly unflattering,are and have been drawn from this 
heresy.Warnings of unspecified damagings to me,invasions of my 
privacy,and even one or two angry sarcasms rained down on 
me,anonymously,of course,but I still continue to swim against the tide. 
Now,let me state here,early,that I do not do it for any need to be out 
of step with my fellow man.If I have to guess at why I am reluctant to 
use a pseudonym,I would think it was that I have never been sure of who 
I was or am now.Adding another persona to my confused life 
would,perhaps,do me more damage than the ghostly villains some seem to 
think infest the net.Various names did,at first,come to mind.I think my 
first choice would have been,"Big Dick",seemingly in step with my 
attraction for fiction.Others that I seriously considered went by the 
wayside,as I,finally,came down to one in particular.I was going to be 
"Bill Gates", on the web.It had a ring of charm,warmth,eagerness to 
please,in truth,it was a name that engendered every thing I am 
not.Also,perhaps,The Real Mr. Gates,(emphasis mine),might have been 
flattered and put me on his payroll as a million dollar a year idea 
man. 

Reality entered,unannounced,and I felt that the real Mr.Gates might just
sue my ass off,so,cowardly,I reached a decision.I shall remain with my 
own name,it is practically brand new,having,at my advanced age,brought 
no great or small honors to it.Hopefully,it may have a few more good 
years left in it.Then it can be retired with me,forever.


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