Caution: The Online Conversation

[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by JRutledge

I guess if you are engaged in activity that you would not be proud of in the public eye, then I guess you have something to worry about. I have always felt using my real name allows my words to stand by who I am. If I make a claim it is a lot easier to verify that claim because this is who I am. And as time has gone on I have realized what conversations I should have in public and which I should have in private. Since this is a public site, I use similar standards as to what I would say here as I would off this site.

Originally Posted by Mark T. DeNucci, Sr.

I am with Rut on this one. I have nothing to hide. I have never thought it a problem to put my money where my mouth, so to speak. I know a number of IAABO officials, including interpreters, from Connecticut and I am surprised at BillyMac being told not to use his real name.
MTD, Sr.

Originally Posted by Camron Rust

Same here. Absolutely 100% willing to stand behind my words.

I give a lot of credit to those Forum members, like JRutledge, Mark T. DeNucci, Sr., Camron Rust, and others, who use their real name on this Forum. It certainly gives them a degree of credibility that anonymous posters, like myself, have to work a lot harder to achieve.

Regarding MTD, Sr.'s statement, "I am surprised at BillyMac being told not to use his real name". I was not told. It was only suggested to me, and since I have a lot of respect for the person who made this suggestion, I decided to do what was suggested.

Regarding JRutledge's statement, "As time has gone on I have realized what conversations I should have in public and which I should have in private. Since this is a public site, I use similar standards as to what I would say here as I would off this site". I had problems distinguishing between public and private. I made a few posts giving an interpretation by my interpreter, I believe involving advantage-disadvantage, mentioning him by name. Even though the information that I posted, attributed to him, was an accurate description of what he stated at our local meetings, he told me that he did not appreciate his name appearing all over the internet. Even if I hadn't used his name, and just referred to him as "my interpreter", if my real name were part of the post, it wouldn't have been too difficult to find out who "my interpreter" is, because his name, and title, is published all over the place, both in written publications, as well as our local board's website. So, at his suggestion, my real name, exact location, and local board affiliation, simply became BillyMac, an IAABO official, from Connecticut.

Another reason that I followed his suggestion, was that he pointed out to me that his friend, ChuckElias, had also decided to stop posting under his real name. At the time, I had a lot of respect for ChuckElias. I looked forward to his posts because they had a lot to offer, good solid advice, offered in an educational, not condescending, tone. For those of you who only know of ChuckElias as the "annual baseball guy", or don't remember why he left the Forum, let's go down memory lane:

A Fond Farewell

I figured that if leaving the Forum, or being vague about who you are, was good enough for ChuckElias, one of the most respected officials on the Forum, at the time, then it was good enough for me.

Hopefully, since becoming IAABO Connecticut BillyMac, I have gained some credibility as a Forum poster. I have always tried to be polite to those who disagree with me, have been open to constructive criticism, and have tried to post information that is helpful to all officials, as a retired teacher, and a member of my local board's training committee, especially to new officials. As JRutledge brought up, I don't believe that I have posted anything that I was not be proud of in the public eye. As Camron Rust pointed out, I am willing to stand behind my words, but not up to the 100% level that he does. Unfortunately, as MTD, Sr. stated, I do have something to hide, for the reasons outlined above.