On Paranoia and Privacy

[hrj]

Hi to everyone who's visited and commented so far! When I saw the profusion of comments, I figured Someone had passed the news along that I was here.

(I suspect that while I settle in here, I'm going to wax excessively philosophical. Bear with me.)

There's nothing like a burglary to inspire one to review appropriate levels of paranoia [1], and there's nothing like starting a public journal to inspire one to review concepts of privacy.

One of the things that initially put me off of Live Journal is the pervasive pseudo-anonymity created by the local culture's preference for using lj nicknames rather than "real" names. I'll go along with it to the best of my ability but it makes me itch for a couple of reasons. One is the "Sekrit Klub" aspect -- if you aren't "part of the gang" you aren't supposed to know what's going on. This is, of course, more of a feature than a bug. It creates a certain level of privacy even when posting things that the entire world, in theory, can read. But it's a bit jarring to finally discover that I real-world-know someone whose comments I've been reading for months and suddenly everything torques 15 degrees counter-clockwise.

The other reason that nicknames make me itch is the same reason I never spent much time in the closet: it's a heckuva lot of work to maintain multiple distinct identities in the world. (I clearly wouldn't make a very good masked superhero.) Keeping track of who has a lj account and gets a nick, who doesn't but would be unhappy at being referred to by name, who doesn't care … it gets pretty complicated. But I'll do my best.

The whole issue of this being a public journal rather than a private diary is going to be easier to keep track of, I think -- I'll just treat it as if it were a chatty e-mail being broadcast to the family. (And, in fact, that's one of my major purposes for it.) I just have to remember not to say anything indiscrete about my employer. (starts with a "B" … famous for aspirin)

Footnote [1] So enough angsting about nicknames, what's this about a burglary? The family have already had all the details -- basically, my house got broken into a week ago (with the Elder Brother asleep in the next room) and my laptop was stolen. Now, if you're going to have a computer stolen, try to make it one that's been backed up recently, that isn't used for key projects, that was due for replacement soon anyway, and that's covered by insurance. May I say Very Nice Things about State Farm Insurance? There was still some annoying financial security foo to deal with, especially since I had to consider that my charge card was compromised. This was balanced by the entertainment value of how astounded both the police and insurance agent were at my ability to produce specs, serial numbers, and original purchase receipts at the drop of a hat. You mean the rest of the world isn't anal-retentive about organizing personal data? Anyway, I came home today with a replacement iBook, although I think I won't have time to set it up until the weekend.

Comments

[talonvaki.livejournal.com]

...Then again, you've got those weirdos who've been using the same nickname for so long it might as well be their real name...

[goldenstag.livejournal.com]

Fascinating about the burglery and the computer. Congrats on having things in such good shape. While I try to regularly back up my machine, I could be in deep sh*t if my desktop computer was stolen. I realize most thieves would likely go for something portable, so my notebook, while a loss, would not kill me. Most of the real work I do is on the desktop. (Although the notebook is getting old, and could use replacement, that's another story, and will have to wait awhile ...)

[loup_noir]

One of the things that initially put me off of Live Journal is the pervasive pseudo-anonymity created by the local culture's preference for using lj nicknames rather than "real" names.

Oh, please. SCA. I'll leave it at that.

There's nothing like a burglery to make one feel violated. I've been burgled twice and I make my rounds every night, checking the doors and peering into the darkness. Tim laughs at me for this, but I'll continue to do so.

[hrj.livejournal.com]

Well, yeah, SCA. And that aspect of the SCA can be off-putting as well. It's one reason I try to use the real names of my SCA friends when it's not specifically an SCA context. But point taken.

This is my second burglary, in technical terms. (That's over my entire lifetime.) There was a break-in in one of my storage areas, but since it isn't technically part of the "house", evidently it doesn't count as a burglary for the record. I never did find out just what it did count as. All you can really do is try to make your house more annoying to break into than one of the alternatives.

[albionwood.livejournal.com]

A footnote, in your second LJ post! If there was ever any doubt as to your identity, it is dispelled. ;-)

privacy

[cellio]

I take the same view of LJ. I have a public journal, and I should consider that any random person with an internet connection can read it. (And I've definitely had drive-by anonymous comments, so it happens.) This means I should think about what I post. But I'm public about who I am; it's too much trouble to do otherwise, and the attempt could lull me into a false sense that it's "safe" to post things I wouldn't otherwise.

Now granted, you and I are both pretty experienced when it comes to the net. I definitely posted my share of stupid stuff to Usenet when I was in college, and I hope most of it has been lost to the mists of time. But that's a function of age and maturity, I think, so maybe it's better if the high-school and college posters mostly do use nicknames. It'll be easier for them to bury those writings later when employers do web searches before hiring.