Norwood for student working several grade-leves ahead?

[SAM2]

Anonymous wrote:

Why don't you set the example and sign in then

Because I think such a system only has utility if it's required (e.g. you can't post without a screenname) or imposed (e.g. your first post generates a unique identifier that sticks with you throughout the thread). It's still game-able, but to a lesser extent, and the hijacked identities problem would probably be eliminated. I nominate this particular forum as the guinea pig if Jeff decides to experiment with such a system. Meanwhile, having some non-sock puppeteers voluntarily identify themselves doesn't really undermine sock puppeteering.

That's a cop-out. If you just don't want to login, at least have the guts to say so.

[Anonymous]

Right -- because it takes a lot of guts to post pseudonymically rather than anonymously! Somehow I just don't see the moral high ground in signing your posts with a fake name.

Honestly, the only utility I see in voluntary differentiation is a sort of branding, which is something I have no interest in. It does nothing to stop the people who are abusing the system from doing so; nor does it give readers a way of identifying the abusers.

YMMV -- obviously does. But that doesn't mean anybody who doesn't do things your way lacks intestinal fortitude.

[Anonymous]

I agree.

It identifies a brand which might be important to some (e.g., ego) and of course one can post with and without one's brand as one sees fit (or to suit the discussion)

[Anonymous]

Glad to see this "nicer" discussion - and it is actually a pretty interesting idea - but maybe you could start a new thread with a new topic....this Norwood thread has more "off topic" posts than "on topic" ones.

I do think it would help to have some sort of identifier - even if just within a thread - for the pure fact that it helps to keep track of the conversation.

Not sure that having an identifier system wide is so great for people who want to ask very specific questions. Gains on the side of identifying negative/agressive posts are losses on the side of anonymity.

[Anonymous]

I posted here yesterday but only now have had the chance to return.

I'd be interested in unique identifiers for each thread. I can see how this would eliminate identity theft (at least 3 examples on this thread by my count) and weed out, or at least discourage, the trolls. As I understand it a troll would have to log in from a different computer to get a new identity, and given that trolls are generally losers (a recent NYTimes piece basically said this), a unique identity may discourage a population that is less likely to own 2-3-4 computers. I guess I could log in from my iPhone and laptop, and that would be two separate IDs because one is ATT and the other is WiFI from our home. But still, it's time-consuming and would suck some of the ease out of trolling.

I'm a bit leery about having a single identifier that follows me around to every thread, such as the current log-in that SAM2 is proposing we adopt. This is because, to paraphrase an example Jeff himself once used, if I post on one thread that my kid at Beauvoir loves the school, then I post on another thread asking where to get my Volvo fixed, and then I post on a third thread that my dog sheds too much, and then on a 4th thread I post that I have some embarrassing STD -- well then somebody on the Beauvoir carpool line is going to figure out that I'm the woman in the Volvo with the dog, and I'm going to get funny looks when I pull my Volvo into the Beauvoir carpool line.

I agree that this particular thread has run its course, so we could make an example out of some other thread.

[Anonymous]

19:31 again. Of course, individual identifiers for each thread is a lot to ask of Jeff. Perhaps the three of us should get together and design software (or hire some to design software) to do this for forums like this one, and then market it?

[Anonymous]

I think that the software already exists -- at least I've seen something like it on blogs that allow commentary. Basically, you see an image like a quilt square identifying different posters in a thread. I'm not sure whether they recur across threads, but since they don't appear to be searchable, the cross-referencing might not be a big issue even if they did.

Don't know whether the BB software used on this site has a similar feature.

I don't know about the rest of you, but I instinctively read differently when there are consistent pseudonyms -- suddenly a series of debates are replaced by a serial novel and I'm attentive to character development. Which is entertaining in its own way, but may detract from the substance of some posts for me.

[Anonymous]

Do you know if the images are generated anew for each thread a poster joins?

I guess I'd still worry if the images (or pseudonyms) were consistent across threads, because somebody could put enough info together to identify me and my kids. For example, I've had kids in specific publics and privates and I've commented on all four schools here. There aren't many families with the same combination of schools. If somebody at my kid's current school sees me posting about it, and then sees my same image posting about private school X, then they pretty much know that we're one of 2 kids I'm aware of that went to private school X and are now in public school Y.

[Anonymous]

Maybe I've misremembered -- I went back to the places where I thought I'd seen this (wordpress blogs) but the examples I found all came with handles as well as the quilt square-like icons.