Privacy or Anonymity?
Sometimes you hear people saying:
"Does your mother know what you're doing?"
Well, as far as Internet is concerned, my mom doesn't, and even worse, she doesn't want to know.
Maybe she counts on it that at nearly 40 I should be able to take care of myself out there.
Well, I can't. I simply can't behave on the Internet.
Fortunately there are lots of sites which offer you anonymous remailers,
helping me to hide behind a curtain of aliases, like
Speed-of-lightness@anonymoustroll.com and irritating-Jabba_the_hutt@droolers.net.
I think it's wonderful.
I roam around in various Usenet groups shouting and screaming,
insulting my co-Internetters and showing I'm such a big guy.
It also helps at the Internet chess servers, be it real-time online play,
be it e-mail based chess. I use multiple accounts, and if I'm eventually kicked out,
I pester on through my other accounts. No sir, yes ma'am, there's no stopping me.
Low profile
Okay, you are right, there are reasons to hide your true identity on Internet,
and make yourself untracable, to prevent people are going to stalk you,
when you just wanted to join the fun. Like when you're Garry Kasparov,
and want to discuss the results of say the Las Vegas event, or Bill Clinton,
discussing the opportunities for young people to get experience as an intern ,
or say Tina Turner, discussing if your dresses should be cut below the knees or above it.
(Men, feel free to react)
But me? Who am I?
Some unimportant under 1600 player, one of the 6 billion walking around on the surface of this earth.
No, that's wrong, I'm not walking around anymore.
At this very moment in the upper left corner of my screen I am looking at the
Wimbledon 2000 finale between Rafter and Sampras, because I put in a PCTV-card;
at the background I hear a bell ringing because I received e-mail and I just opened
my browser because I got a nice idea for a chess move in one of my tournament games
at playchess. Of course Fritz 6 and Junior 6 are not running!
Hey, accuse me of cheating?
So I'm sitting, behind my computer screen, and enjoying Internet.
I don't like not enjoying internet, so I hate spamming, internet stalking and all that.
And with the time I'm online (24 hours a day), really irritated I sometimes have to
take a break from my computer for eating and sleeping (and my toilet's another,
but I won't discuss that further), I definitely would like some privacy.
You know what I like? I like my privacy, not my anonymity.
Kinky habits
It's the same when you play an opponent.
Yes, chess, now we're talking chess again.
How about him or her sitting down opposing you without saying a single word?
How about smashing some pieces around, cursing at you, walking away in a lost position,
leaving you behind? Wouldn't you go and complain to the arbiter about that behaviour.
"It was a, guy, duhhh, say.... Well, don't know, yellow hair...
funny moustache, duh, strange nose and glasses...."
No, you nor the arbiter know who it was, but hell, you don't wanna play that cheapo again.
But what about sitting behind the chessboard,
opposing you a real "nice" guy telling you all about his problems with
warts on his fingers and other places, how contaminating they are, and how painful,
and that he earns $150,000 a year just to buy kinky leather underwear and visit
some strange clubs around town? Are you interested?
If you were that guy, would you like to tell your opponent?
Would you like your chess server to know?
So that's the difference between privacy and anonymity.
A real name, a real e-mail address, a real face, and no messing around
with that for commercial purposes by the place you visit!
Providing real data about yourself, that rip you out of anonymity,
has immediate effects: people start to behave more properly, manners are better over all.
Well, okay, if you're an ass in real life, you'll be an ass online.
That's no problem, as we can correct you, not your anonymous alter ego not listening.
Internet
Being online is a new experience for all of us.
In one instance we are talking with the same people we looked at in awe and
wonder when we visited far and strange countries.
And now we're talking freely to them, sometimes not knowing how sensitive
things can be.
Making yourself known helps to convince the other that you are serious,
and no anonymous troller trying to pull some Internet legs....
Bad manners are from all times!
Even in chess. Remember the game between Steinitz and Von Bardeleben?
No? Of course not, it was in 1895! You weren't even born then, doofus!
But in that game, facing a sure mate, Von Bardeleben left the chess board
and the playing hall and didn't return to lose on time.
Steinitz had to sit and watch the clock to end the game.
Very rude, but we know who misbehaved.
Over 105 years later we still know. But did Von Bardeleben like Kellog's Frosties?
Porno mags? Long walks in the forest? I don't know. I don't care.
It's the difference between anonymity and privacy.
Long live Internet.
Rafter is leading at Wimbledon now!
And my opponent just answered by e-mail.
And..... oh oh, ..... my computer just crashed.
Forgot to save this file.
Now you'll never know how I really think about anonymity and privacy.
© 2000 Jeroen I.M. van Dorp
Jeroen van Dorp (jimvandorp@wxs.nl) is a chess player from Utrecht, the Netherlands.
He's 39, and some very unanonymous details about him are available at http://zip.to/jeroen.
|
