Anonymity

This blog is public, but it is written primarily by students as part of a class.

Students are encouraged to post and comment under pseudonyms. Exceptions are made only with student's permission.

Anonymity is beneficial to students: some may not want their work explored by others in the future.

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My policy for this blog goes back to its founding in 2004. It is in direct conflict with the way the web has evolved. Major sites, like Facebook and the family of Google sites (including Blogger), as a matter of policy, make it very difficult for users to maintain multiple and/or secret identities.

Make no mistake, this is a bottom line decision on their part. Some countries, notably China and Iran, do not want any of their citizens ever connecting to the internet in a way that is anonymous. This is to stifle dissent. To nurture their business in these countries, these sites restrict the capabilities for anonymity of all their users.