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PaperclipPerfector  3mo ago (text post)   2515 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for January 28, 2024

Do you have a dumb question that you're kind of embarrassed to ask in the main thread? Is there something you're just not sure about?

This is your opportunity to ask questions. No question too simple or too silly.

Culture war topics are accepted, and proposals for a better intro post are appreciated.

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Let’s say there was an “anonymous mode” box on your profile. While checked, any comments or posts you made would be reassigned to a single, anonymous account. Mods would still be able to see who wrote it, and you would be held to the usual rules, but other users could not.

  1. Would you use this feature?
  2. Would it make you less likely to delete/overwrite old comments?
  3. Am I overlooking an obvious way for bad actors to exploit this?

I don't see myself using it too much, Mainly because I am not too paranoid of getting doxxed or "fingerprinted" by AI. I think I've made that sufficiently difficult by having almost no writing under my real name that intersects with the motte in any way whatsoever and having a sex/profession/location/ethnicity profile that literally tens of thousands of others also share.

  1. Rarely.
  2. Probably.
  3. Possibly but seems unlikely.

No, and I'd rather it weren't a thing. I'd expect it would be a net negative: some people would use it unnecessarily, and being able to recognize individuals seems essential to maintaining a community well.

If I remember correctly, alts are allowed with mod permission? So people can already say things with ~anonymity, but with a mild barrier?

Your assumption is correct. We recognize legitimate uses for alts, though back when that was proposed, I asked @ZorbaTHut if there was any way to make any approved way to make an alt without informing them (I wasn't a mod then), and I don't recall if he came down on it. I mean, just make one, we can't stop you, new accounts receive extensive scrutiny.

We do detect alts, especially the people who don't take kindly to their bullshit being shown the door, and in some pretty clever ways, but I'm not at liberty to disclose the details.

i imagine a lot of people would the feature a lot if it actually magically guaranteed anonymity against all possible threat models, but it doesn't. I feel like people here are already very resistant to the desire to not say things that'll get a negative response, but care about anonymity for other reasons like not wanting to get their racism posts linked to their real job and things like that.

What would be the rules around use of personal information? People here frequently cite personal experiences, would the mods be piercing the veil and assigning discipline to accounts that lie?

Who says any personal experiences cited here are true?

Lie might be the wrong word. I don't care if they're true, but it seems like a violation for them to inconsistent but concealed in a way that can't be called out.

Like if I put on anon mode and started doing some "As A Woman" bit, that should be bannable.

IMO, any argument premised on the speaker's personal identity should be bannable regardless.

Dafuq? Quite a few of our best AAQCs involved people using their personal identity and knowledge to provide valuable context lost to the rest of us.

You're not going to win that one. Even 4channers often divulge personal details in their greentexts.

"Premised on" is an important qualifier in my post. People should feel free to cite personal knowledge and experience, but if their argument rises or falls based on that personal knowledge or experience being true, I think they are failing to make a real argument. If their argument boils down to "trust me bro, I know what I'm talking about" it's not contributing to the discussion.

I sometimes mention that I am a lawyer, and I am, but I don't expect anyone here to give me special trust or deference on legal topics because of it. I don't expect anyone to even believe me when I say I'm a lawyer. My arguments need to be independently supportable via evidence and reason, not purported credentials or lived experience.

So, any time someone cites personal experiences or opinions it should be bannable? How far does that extend? Does citing one's profession? One's nationality? That seems kinda unworkable.

Any time someone makes an argument premised on (i.e. an argument that rises or falls based on) personal experiences or opinions being true, they should be warned or banned for doing so. People need to make arguments that other people can engage with. Claiming epistemic privilege based on identity, credentials, lived experiences, etc. is antithetical to this. It's the fallacy of appeal to authority.

How do you define premised in a useful way?

It's tough to draw the line between "argument premised on a personal experience," and "argument that uses an anecdotal story to illustrate a theory."

I also find that people sharing their personal experiences can help me to understand their arguments even if I still disagree. Many times I've seen arguments about marriage, gender-war stuff, dating; and inevitably one of my interlocutors tells me something about themselves and I say OH NOW IT MAKES SENSE. I hear people forwarding theories about how marriage is terrible and women are awful blood-sucking harpies, and then they start talking about their wives and I remember how blessed I am. I hear people talking about how awful modern women are to date, and I realize I need to check my pretty-privilege and whatnot. It is useful to have that knowledge, it helps to bridge the gaps.

One obvious edge case I'd like to point out is how the mod handles any punishment meted out. We usually post public bans or warnings, and that would presumably reflect in the real account. Not an unsurmountable problem, and anyway I hope people wouldn't make such comments in the first place even with an additional level of pseudonymity.

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