Rachel, thanks for posting the link, I would never have found it or had chance to cast my vote.
I think this recent call for anonymity is Tim protecting his patch. As a new poster I had not realised that unless you are prepared for a dirty war, it is not wise to express an alternative view to Tim. Rather than engage in discussion he has sought to undermine the concerns I have raised re the ZRG proposal with wind ups, references to anonymous PMs questioning my identity, politics, gender, requests that my ip addresses is checked and persistent requests to meet off line. It's reactions like that, that make me glad I chose a pseudonym.
Agree with Admin that it is the content of the post that counts not the user name.
It's not my patch. You have just the same options in how you use this Forum as I or anyone else. One of those options in anonymity, but the trade off is less credibility. Another option is to meet socially, but no one is forcing anyone
But, Rachel and Rod Taylor, I've had the pleasure of meeting both of you face to face, and you, Rachel, provide enough references to things you do - e.g. involvement with the East Dulwich writers' group, which gives a good enough idea of who you are. So, with a record of regular posting, you're not really anonymous to other Forum regulars, even though you'll not be google-able here. There are plenty of other regulars who just use their first names, or even something completely different, such as Rod Taylor, who have developed a comparable levels of credibility - e.g. Michael, Stuart, Simon, Sydenham, Annie, Eagle, Nigel, CaptainCarCrash, Duke of Clarence, Bensonby, JulietP and many more. And by credibility, I don't imply agreement with your views, but confidence that these are generally the views of a distinct person, so not a sock puppet, and someone who would say the same sort of things if I knew who they were in person. With a new poster, especially one posting in very strong terms on a particular topic, as with Sid Nam, I have to wonder, initially, if they are for real. Meeting face to face is the easiest way to establishing this, and it's something I also enjoy doing, but I admit it's not necessary. From that list above, I've never met Annie or CaptainCarCrash, but I have no questions over their credibility, because they don't feel anonymous to me any more. OTOH, there are one or two occasional posters on this Forum who I suspect would not say the same sort of things if I knew who they were in person.
As it happens, Sid Nam is probably no longer one of these for me - he seems to be settling down a bit into a normal pattern of posting. But the PMs I received at the time he started posting, making bizarre assertions about his identity and even gender were very odd, so it's not surprising I was initially suspicious.
My point is not whether I am anonymous or not, but whether being anonymous necessarily takes away from my credibility. I don't think it does.
With regard to Sid Nam and bizarre PMs - I wonder if any of this is related to the huge hullaballoo on the Crystal Palace forum some time ago relating to the old development plans. I didn't follow it, but I understand it got seriously personal. If you are receiving PMs about a person who is posting in detail about the new Crystal Palace plans, that makes me wonder not about Sid Nam's motivations (whose posts have always seem consistent and well argued to me), but those of the person who PMed you.
On an unrelated subject, why can't anyone on this forum spell my name correctly? I mean, guys, it's right there.
I had equal doubts about the PMer's credibility too, which unlike those about Sid Nam, have not diminished.
We obviously mean slightly different things by 'anonymity', and have different time scales: you longer term, me shorter term. I'd guess you and others understand what both of us mean.
Must say that I took Tim's mention of anonymous PMs as off putting and part of a wind up campaign but it sounds as though he was genuine, so apologies Tim for not understanding that or what a hornets nest the park is. I was unaware of a pro Crystal Palace mob till now but as this is a subject that brings out the worst in some I would have regretted revealing my opposition were it not for the cover of anonymity!
