Should posters be encouraged to add their names?

When dealing with others professionally it is normal to introduce yourself with your name and "affiliation" (maybe your job title and company, or whatever position is relevant to the conversation). On web forums generally people don't.

It does seem to me from reading postings here over many years that it may be easier to maintain reasoned discussions when posters admit who they are, and easier to descend into rants (and occasionally personal abuse) when they don't. Perhaps because it's clearer that you have to stand by your words, also I suppose you may meet the object of your ranting at an IET event which could be somewhat embarrassing!

I can see times when anonymous posting is valid, particulalry where people are asking for help with employment issues (I wouldn't post a message here saying "I am currently looking for another job and need advice..." unless I'd had a really bad day!).

I'd be really interested to know what other forum users thought?

(P.S. in case anyone's wondering what triggered this train of thought, it was the latest postings from "ipayyoursalary". But that's only one example.)

P.P.S Just read that through and it sounds like I'm having at go at all anonymous posters - I'm not!!! Many of them keep these forums alive.

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Andy Millar CEng MIET MCMI

http://www.linkedin.com/in/millarandy

I like the idea. It might just work.

Hopefully though, if enough of us agree and begin to do it on a voluntary basis, it won't need to be compulsary.

This wouuld leave the door open for those occasions when there is a very good reason for being anonymous.

Nick Burnett

I'm stuck with the username I have because I created it to access this web site long before these forums ever came into existance.

I've compromised by putting my name in the signature.

However, I am also aware that anything you post on the internet can come back and haunt you years later. That's why I have only used my initials and not my full name. Anyone Googling for my name is unlikely to hit any of these postings.

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S P Barker BSc PhD MIET

It's an interesting question.

Not being anonymous does inhibit me from asking questions and raising discussions on things that are particularly interesting subjects. It wouldn't be that difficult for my employer (or a past employer) to figure it was me if I posted certain things and if they didn't agree with what I wrote, that would be unfortunate - to say the least!

I don't mean offensive or insulting posts either. It would be fairly easy to create an engineering version of The Daily WTF given all the examples I come across

But it probably wouldn't be wise in a non-anonymous way!

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Mark Tickner CEng MIET

Very true - I'm very careful about what I post in the Railway forum for example, as I could either be seen as speaking on behalf of my company when I wasn't, or disagreeing with my employer which could be a severly career limiting move! But then I think we should also be wary of doing such things in (say) the pub - you never know when the engineer you're chatting to might suddenly become your boss or customer!

It's where whinging stops and whistle-blowing begins is the interesting point, but I'm not sure these forums are the right place for that?

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Andy Millar CEng MIET MCMI

http://www.linkedin.com/in/millarandy

It matters more the message than the name of the person giving it. The IET do not even know if the person registering to use these forums is who they say they are anyway!

Regards.

I suppose that's why I think it's a good idea - it stops and makes you think before you type something too outragous. But of course if you don't have the experience of watching your words you could get caught out badly the first few times.

Thinking back, a lot of my feelignng on this goes back to my days as a Friends of the Earth activist (back in the mid-80s when environmentalism was REALLY unpopular and untrendy) when I was dealing with the press and radio a lot - that teaches you very quickly how to be very careful what you put your name to! But I'm still here, and nobody's shot me yet...

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Andy Millar CEng MIET MCMI

http://www.linkedin.com/in/millarandy

Certainly this is the case for a non-member user of the forums. For a IET member user - they at least know the name of the person paying the bills

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Mark Tickner CEng MIET

For me it depends upon whether it's a matter of fact or opinion. If you post a message asking for details of an xyz contactor, and I post a reply giving a link to the manufacturer's datasheet then we could call ourselves mickey mouse and donald duck for all that anyone would care. But if you ask if it's safe to use in a particular application and I say yes it is I would expect you to want to know who I am!
(Sorry, not a brilliant example, best I could come up with quickly.)

I fully agree that any of us could be hiding under faked names and photos if we really wanted. (In may case at least it's pretty easy to find out that I'm not ) I don't think these forums are that exciting / influential though!

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Andy Millar CEng MIET MCMI

http://www.linkedin.com/in/millarandy

Ahh...but you can always register again under an assumed name

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Andy Millar CEng MIET MCMI

http://www.linkedin.com/in/millarandy

This is an interesting debate, and has come up a number of times, so the views of contributors here would be welcome. If I may, some points of my own:

• Regular contributors tend to build for their usernames a reputation (good or bad) in a forum; their further postings will be judged by the community in the light of this, just as will their pronouncements in the "real" world
  
• Some good points about the advantages and drawbacks of anonymous postings have already been made
  
• Points 9-11 of the Conditions of Use therefore encourage, but do not require, the use of signatures
  
• My subjective opinion is that the use of signatures is high in this forum by comparison with others
  
• The profile/contacts system is also designed to enable contributors to give background information about themselves to anyone who clicks on someone else's username (but participation is voluntary; if you haven't created a public profile, no-one else can view it)
  
• Usernames here apply across the whole IET Web system, rather than only in the forums, and are linked to one's identity in the IET's membership and contacts systems; this tends to discourage (but does not wholly prevent) registration under pseudonyms

I look forward to reading your views.

Regards

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David Rossall
The Institution of Engineering and Technology

It's a reasonable example but I think if things get that serious then the relevant people can easily email each other and exchange personal details if they so wish. Are you saying that your photo of a handsome and distinguished fellow is fake? Maybe a bit of air brushing was undertaken before posting?

Regards.

Unfortunately, on the wiring regs forum we have had a number of 'trolls' over the years, with posts solely posted to upset and disrupt.
A number of disgraced users and banned users have re-registered and started to post only to be discovered some time later and disappear again.
We have a few female contributors, 1 of which has been stalked and hounded in real life from their involvement on here.

A few others remain anonymous due to their jobs. If they were seen to be handing out free consultancy when they represent some of the biggest concerns in the UK would not be good.

It does make us chuckle though when basic points are discussed and a junior poster tells a long standing contributor that they 'don't know what they are talking about' not knowing that the other guy is a known PhD contributor to the regs.............

Regards,

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Lack of planning on your part doesn't make it an emergency on mine....

Every man has to know his limitations- Dirty Harry

i totally agree with Mr Millar, it is very important to know with whom you are talking with. Everyone here is free to express his opinion but this has to be done using our name and affiliation.We are a professional forum not a chat room in order to hide behind anonymous posts.

Have a nice day to all



Georgios Leontidis Bsc(4y) MIET VDI

Trust me, if it was faked there would be considerably more hair on top!!!!!

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Andy Millar CEng MIET MCMI

http://www.linkedin.com/in/millarandy

There are many good reasons for not wanting your name, picture and profession splattered all over the internet: Identity theft, fraud, people seeking email addresses and personal info in an attempt to crack banking passwords, giving ammunition to crazy ex-girlfriends or ex-business partners looking to damage one's reputation. I bet Rebecca Leighton is regretting posting all those silly facebook pictures now.

The most sensible default position is to keep your personal information private.

Amillar wrote:



Ah - I see where you're coming from now Andy

If you think you see where I'm coming from based on that then you probably don't! Let's face it, I was in the same position then (being anti the prevailing trend) as you believe yourself to be in now, didn't stop me always using my own name. Or, to put it another way, if either of us is on an MI5 register for our activities relating to the environment it's going to be me rather than you

However I have always believed that it is important that I am open about who I am and where my expertise does and does not lie. Otherwise it feels like just hiding behind a wall and hurling bricks, but maybe that's just me. (If I lived in a country where I or my family would be in danger for expressing my views I don't know how I would behave then, fortunately the UK is not like that. If it was I wouldn't be here by now!)

Could you explain why you post anonymously? It would help this discussion.

My biggest point is still that it seems to me (and it's totally a personal view) that postings on this forums tend to be more reasonable, balanced, and considerate where posters are named than when posters are anonymous. But I'm happy to accept that I may be applying my own biases there, and also that correlation does not imply causation.

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Andy Millar CEng MIET MCMI

http://www.linkedin.com/in/millarandy

But let's say you were back in 1938 and were posting comments about Hitler, would these comments be reasonable, balanced and considerate? Would you be saying well on one hand he is a really bad guy but on the other hand he is a good guy etc., in order to be balanced? All the comments in these forums obviously meet the forum rules else they would be deleted and so I see no issue with the way things are.

Regards.

Hi Andy,

Sorry for the late reply. I think I laid out my feelings on internet privacy above. I assure you that when necessary I have sacrificed my privacy to speak up on issues at considerable risk to myself. However I don't feel that posting comments here warrants such a sacrifice of privacy to a global audience via Google.

Furthermore - I think anonymous posting can be helpful since it allows whistleblowers to speak out without fear of recrimination or career damage. Yes - it can lead to uncivil postings - but if contributors avoid insults and stick to the forum rules - the discussions can be lively and thought provoking.

Best Regards

Quite some time ago, it was pointed out to me that I should identify myself properly and add my qualifications and position held if I wanted my views to be taken seriously. Otherwise without an indication of my background and experience there could be a feeling that I was just being controversial (or patronizing!) without substance.

Similarly in networking face-to-face it helps most of the time to know to whom you are speaking. It doesn't stop me putting forward controversial views if they are ones I feel are justified even if others dislike them. If they are proven wrong I'll admit correction.

Regards
Hamish

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Hamish V Bell, BSc, CEng, FIET, FCQI, CQP
2007 - 2010, Vice President and Trustee