I have not made this post anonymouse for reasons which will become obvious, hopefully...
Does anyone else think that "anonymous" as a posters name should be banned and posters forced to come up with pseudonyms (false names for those in the sticks)?
OK they dont need to be funny - just different, otherwise it gets completely confusing with anonymouse answering his/her/its own question.
Or am i just bored doing last minute returns?
Replies (30)
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Right On Bro
The regular contributors should decline to answer anonymous questions and anonymous answers should be banned.
We may "hide" behind a pseudonym, but we still judge people by their responses. Some have a good reputation, others less so, but at least we know who they are.
Too True Blue
I raised this very point months ago when the option to be anonymouse was made so easy on the new site, but I was shouted down by many anonymice.
IMHO, I can see very very few circumstances why anyone should feel the need to post anonymousely and it should be at the discretion of the moderators only.
It makes trying to read through a thread very hard since you can't distinguish one mouse from another.
It is one of my pet peeves with this site and I really don't know why the moderators continue to do nothing about it.
Now I will sit back and await the inevitable sqeaking and squealing!!!
Concealing identities
I can certainly understand why some questioners do not wish to reveal their identity. And I am happy to respond to such questions.
But it would be helpful if they posted as "greenrabbit247" rather than anonymous. But that involves creating a new user under a new name - which could be a bit of a pain!
Sherlock Gnomes
Agreed in the context of a forum response
David is absolutely right in that anonymity is vital but it would be helpful if respondents (if that's the right term) would use an 'alias' form o0f username rather than just anonymous.
I doubt that would deter that bloke who posts as Welsh_Dragon and then argues with himself as skylarking.
Boring - this topic has been done to death
There are numerous reasons why people choose to use there real names - and quite rightly if you are Mr Winch.
There are numerous reasons why people post as annonymous yes the main reason is probably to remain annonymous but there numerous other reasons.
There are numerous reasons that people post under pseudonyms again the main reason is probably to remain annonymous. These people tend to think that they are better than others.
One of the reasons I do not use a pseudonym is that all of my posts are put in a history from which I could easily be identified. On the old site I used to have two pseudonyms depending on what I was posting.
Pawncob are you Simon Tomsett??
Pawncob by looking back at your posting history it would appear that you are called Simon Tomsett, if you wished to reamain anonymous then perhaps you should have posted as anonymous rather than a pseudonym.
I have absolutely no problem
with posters not wishing to reveal their identity in some cases.
What gets me is all these "mice" - they seem to breed at a prodigious rate!
What is so difficult about creating a pseudonym and sticking to it? This is the only board I have come across which allows an anonymous post - what is the point of it?
Old A web
In old a web you could effectively change your name any time you posted. Now you seem to be stuck with the identity you have at the outset. I was unable in any event to migrate my old account and ID - under the (false) assumption I could then alter it I picked a pretty random name.
Maybe the powers that be could re-think & see if there is a way to chose more than one user name and/or alter the "name" for each post?
Personally the anonymice do not bother me, but I do think the site has got less interesting (though WD has helped!)
My two pennies worth
I too would favour the "anon7123" type approach to anon. postings, so that you could tie together all anon. postings by the same person (but not link them back to the real identity in any way). I think this is particularly important when it comes to responses to the "Is XXXX any good" type questions.
Maybe there are occasions for the truly anonymous postings but I think they should have to go to a moderator first.
David Forbes
The system will never work for everyone
Hello valued and active members!
I just wanted to come on and say we are aware of this thread, and I am in discussion with the editors and the tech team as to what our options might be. There are some good suggestions above, and we are taking them on board along with other possible solutions which have been discussed previously.
I wanted to let you know that we are not ignoring the issue, or you for that matter! But I do have to warn you folks that if we change the system, which I think is nearing inevitable, it is impossible to expect that the system will work for everyone, so my question, really, is this: Do you really want this to change? If the majority of you do, then I will come back to you with the best possible solutions and then go with the majority vote. Again, this will please some members but not others, and that is just the nature of this beast I am afraid.
Good and Bad
The best thing about Aweb is that the forum allows one to delete/edit previous postings. (Except "stickies"!)
Why not just ban the "Anonymous" option and force them to use a pseudonym, even if it's one they can change for each posting. That way at least we'll know which poster we're dealing with.
My estimate is 400 members. Only Becky knows how many are active and how many just post one question, but I wouldn't put it above 5%. Let's have a referendum!!!
Totally agree with Pawncob
"Why not just ban the "Anonymous" option and force them to use a pseudonym, even if it's one they can change for each posting. That way at least we'll know which poster we're dealing with."
If someone really wants to post completely anonymously and I appreciate that they will always be genuine cases where this will be the case, just have the option of their post going to the Mods first for approval.
I know the "Mice" won't like it, but I believe it will greatly improve AWeb.
'Anonymous'
A list of unrelated posts from several 'anonymouses' stifles debate. I am not for outing anyone, just a pseudonym to use for reference when responding to earlier posts would be helpful.
I am all for allowing as many pseudonyms as a person wants, not just the one. Once someone starts threatening to sue you for libel it's probably a good idea to change your pseudonym.
Previous version
The previous incarnation of the site allowed for a different alias every time. This at least allowed for consistency when on a single topic and made for the better flow of the argument, as skylarking is saying.
I don't think it necessary to reinvent the wheel
To be frank AWeb bucks a tried and tested formula, and the thread behaviour is pretty unique. Look at any other bulletin board system and two features prevail:
1) a unique login ID which identifies each post, but not the poster's personal details, and
2) access to the thread by way of a tree which shows to which particular post within the thread a particular response is made.
In deciding to go down a different alley, the designers of AWeb presumably think that they know better than the rest of the world. Well, that is a theoretical possibility.
With kind regards
Clint Westwood
My Vote...
..goes with having identifiable posting aliases even if it's only on a per thread basis.
My alias is spread over several forums so that people know whether they can safely ignore my answers or not over a variety of websites, and I know it's the same with several others on here. Healthy debate is difficult to judge when the 45 posts that agree with a viewpoint might actually just be the same person repeating themselves until everyone else goes away!
Why do people have to slag off people on here? I post as anonymous because I want to I try to part with my knowledge and like any answer on here, anonymous or otherwise, it is up to the reader to follow up the answer to confirm its validity. I have received several "best reply" to my postings so I am happy that I am helping.
This is the first and last time that I am going to slag anyone off. Pseudonyms - what gives you the right to be derogortory against anonymous posters by calling them numerous names ie mice? put your real name to it if you are so much better.
nigelburge well done for putting your name to your postings but why don't you help on specialist topics? When researching Doctors all you ever post is it is hard do not touch it let the specialist deal with it. If you know some of the answers why not help fellow members, this is what I thought the forum was for not for people to slag each other off.
People think that accountants are boring, after joining this forum I think that the general public are wrong and that most of us are just w**kers!
Why do people have to slag off people on here?
Bit of an overreaction don't you think?
"nigelburge well done for putting your name to your postings but why don't you help on specialist topics?"
Errrrm ............... I do my best, especially on enquiry work as you will see if you search my posts.
"When researching Doctors all you ever post is it is hard do not touch it let the specialist deal with it. If you know some of the answers why not help fellow members,"
That is because I know enough about Doctors (I am married to one as well) to know that unless one is a specialist in this field one is in danger of making an almighty c**k up!!!! I certainly do not know enough to give anyone any advice on Doctors apart than to seek specialist advice - best advice I could give really (which is why I gave it!!).
Picking up on Neil's comments
Neil, you have my support on this one. I know a fair bit about tax, but there are certain types of client I would never go near, as I know I risk dropping a brick. For example cab drviers (and particularly black cabs). My view is that you are indeed offering best advice when you warn someone that if they are not experienced in a sector they should avoid it. Sometimes the inexperience is shown just by the nature of the question. It is the same with special areas of accounting. I am a charity specialist and if someone asks me a question in regard to their "one charity client" the best advice I can give them is to get rid unless they are planning to skill up and specialise. Risk assess your engagements- if there's something you don't do very often and it is complicated then be very afraid. More likely to make a mess - not enough practice and complexity - and if unlucky get sued.
Neil? Who he?!!!
Don't worry Rebecca - it makes a nice change from Oi, You!!!!!!!!!
I agree with you about charities - it took me ages to get up to speed on those - mind you, a good source of income since a lot of people avoid them.
Nigel
I vote for user names instead of Anon
My vote is for unique user names (e.g. skylark, etc) rather than loads of users all using Anonymous. It just makes sense. As an earlier poster said, nearly all other sites go down this route.
just a thought
People who wish to use anon could put a name at end of question or answer then at least for that particular posting we could follow the debate
I will sign off anon tosie 2
or should I say Dr Watson
Psuedonym
I also vote for posters having to use a user name. It just makes threads that much easier to follow. I'm yet to hear a reasonable argument against it. Like has been said, if it really has to be anonymous then do it through the moderators. If you just don't want a certain comment to be linked to your user name then create a seperate one for those occasions! Pseudonyms are fine, the only reason I don't like anon postings is that when there's a lot of them in one thread then that thread becomes very hard to follow.