As members of the Internet community we encounter anonymity on the web every day. Webster’s defines anonymity as the quality or state of being mostly or completely unknown. Some of us may use pseudonyms in our web postings, emails and other communications on the web for various reasons including protecting our privacy or for creating an environment where we are not held accountable for our actions. For many, the prospect of anonymity is just part of the utopian society of the Internet – an environment whereby you can ‘be yourself’ and say what you feel without fear of repercussion; and for some that lack of personal responsibility means taking advantage of the situation with more unsavory communications. The anonymous factor permeates the Internet especially in the areas of research and information gathering, communication and harassment, online relationships and privacy.
As we have been examining this semester, gathering information online can prove difficult if not impossible to document and reference properly because of the immense amount of data that does not provide author and or source information. Anyone with access to the web can claim to be an expert on any given topic and post information that we have no way of acknowledging as fact without painstakingly checking and re-checking.
Communicating with others online is another point of contention on the Internet where anonymity can create problems. Everyday we communicate in various ways via emails, instant messaging and chat groups. While not everyone uses a pseudonym in their online communications, there is still a degree of anonymity involved and that can alter how we communicate with each other. People tend to communicate differently online than in more personal ways like over the phone or face-to-face.
In the world of online dating and meeting people and forming online relationships, anonymity is definitely one of the major concerns. How do we know who we are communicating with? Even if we see a picture of them (or a picture they claim is a picture of themselves) and feel comfortable that the person on the other end of the computer is really who they say they are, there is a lot of trust that goes along with online relationships and dating. Sometimes online relationships work out and everyone is honest and trustworthy, while others take advantage of the anonymity to claim they are someone they aren’t. “Predators on the net thrive on the anonymity of the interface.” (5)
Privacy matters on the Internet. Everyone wants to protect their identities and assets online. It seems that remaining anonymous is good way to protect oneself from identity theft. But even if one chooses to remain uninvolved in online activity and communication and has little or no web-presence, if someone wants to get private information about someone and use it for their own means, there are ways to attain that information in the real world (i.e., junk mail, documents not securely disposed of, etc.)
So how do we combat the issues of the anonymous web? The true utopian aspect of the Internet community is the free-exchange of information (any information). One day government relation might come along and limit what we all have access to as a means to ‘protect’ certain people from that information. But in the mean time, the best thing we can do is self-regulate through diligence, personal responsibility, taking precautions, using common sense and protecting ourselves.
5 Concerns
1. Research/Info Gathering/Wikipedia.org: Wikipedia.org is a prime example of the potential on Internet for anonymous users to post information that may or may not be accurate. Some Wikipedia entries are referenced and documented appropriately, while others offer no references. One of the good things about Wikipedia is that the organization and the users serve to check the balance of the entries as to whether an entry needs more information, the information is bias or needs to conform to the formatting of the site. So Wikipedia is a crap shoot, but a good place to begin a search.
2. Communication Online: The anonymous factor of web communication can remove from the reader the emotions of the voice and face or the reader can read into and create emotions that are not really there (i.e. sarcasm) – wording and tone are much more difficult to balance in an email correspondence than over the phone.
3. Online Bullying/Harassment: Besides the potential of anonymity making communication online more difficult, the feeling of being anonymous also lends itself to those who choose to use the Internet as a means to harass and bully others without the fear of being held responsible.
4. Meeting People On the Web: In the real face-to-face world people can deceive one another, but online it’s much easier to get away with and more prevalent. People may never meet the other person on the other end of the computer and never reveal the deceit. Or they may meet them and still not reveal the deceit or get into a situation where the other person lures them to a location to meet and harms them. We never know, but that applies online as well as in the real world. Meeting people online is now just a part of communication. It’s becoming more acceptable as a way to meet people and form relationships. But people must take precaution in doing so.
5. Privacy: Everyone wants all the benefits of the privacy while having all the benefits of knowing who they are communicating with and who posted that undocumented information on Wikipedia. We want to have our cake and eat it too it would seem. So where is the balance? How do we protect ourselves and still have access to knowing just who that other person is on the other end of the computer?
Web Resources
1. Features - Getting It Right: Verifying Sources on the Net - Sabrina I. Pacifici
Websites offers information on how to verify information on web sites as well as many links to helpful resources.
2. University of Washington TriO: Assessing Website Quality
Website offers criteria on assessing information and functionality of websites.
3. Today’s Woman writing community: Internet Saftey: Respond vs. React – Dealing With Bullies On The Internet
Website offers guidelines on how to recognize and combat harassment and bullying online.
4. Geek2Geek: Meeting people on the internet – what must be done to be safe?
Website offers tips on how to safely meet others online and off as well as the red-flags of deceit.
5. Police Notebook: Romance on the Internet
Website offers more tips on how to safely meet other online and off
6. Federal Trade Commission Sites:
ID Theft Information Site
ID Theft Complaint Form
Privacy Initiatives
7. Internet Privacy for Dummies
Website correlates with the book and offers online resources on protecting privacy online
8. Electronic Privacy Information Center: EPIC Online Guide to Practical Privacy Tools
Website offers links to online resources regarding computing privacy issues on the following:
- Cookie Busters
- Voice Privacy
- Email and File Privacy
- Secure Instant Messaging
- Web Encryption
- Telnet Encryption
- Disk Encryption
- Disk/File Erasing Programs
- Privacy Policy Generators
- Password Security
- Firewalls5 Recommendations
1. Be diligent: when researching information on the web. Learn to evaluate web sites for accuracy and relevance. Utilize the various resources on the web to verify information on web sites. The following website contains links to several of these resources: http://www.llrx.com/features/verifying.htm.
2. Take responsibility: to combat communication issues, harassment and bullying. Be aware of your kid’s online activity, what they are communicating and to whom (you may not have access to your kid 24/7, but you are ultimately the one responsible for their actions).
The following are tips on recognizing harassment/bullying online from http://www.todayswoman.net/article1702.html:
If the person seems to be just communicating you to harass, insult, or you get the feeling that they are being hurtful on purpose, then that person probably falls into one of the following categories: People who are idiots, People who are naturally mean (and would be in real life), and People who are trying to purposefully get a rise out of you for their own amusement. You can recognize these types of people if they use any of the following tactics:1. Not making any logical sense in their communication.
2. Their communication has little, if any point to it.
3. The communication is filled with curse words, insults, and/or threatening language.
4. The communication may even be worded with correct grammar and a sense that they are stating a perfectly acceptable and even “righteous" statement, when the intent of the email is to hurt or anger you.
5. “Masked" threats, or hidden and subtle language that contains verbal “daggers" to get to you.
6. Continued communication to you, especially if you have chosen to ignore their actions.
7. The whole point of the communication is to insult you, demean or demoralize you, or to make you angry or fearful.
3. Take precautions: when meeting someone online, even just chatting, be aware of red-flags that the person is being deceitful. If you venture off the web and meet someone in person, always meet in a public place and have a plan to get out of an bad situation. Be aware of your kid’s online activity and who they are communicating with. Remember ‘Stranger Danger’. There are several web sites dedicated to alerting people of the red-flags of meeting other via the Internet.
The following are tips on the red-flags of meeting people online from http://www.gk2gk.com/topten/template04.asp:
1. Use caution right from the start.
2. Do not reveal your identity until you are comfortable.
3. Get photos
4. Continue to exercise caution and common sense
5. Speak by phone first
6. Don't meet face to face until you are ready
7. Meet in a safe place
8. Be careful with alcohol and medications.
9. Have a way to get yourself out of a jam
10. Take extra caution outside your area
11. Watch for red flags -- You should be concerned if your date exhibits any of the following behavior without providing an acceptable explanation:
- Provides inconsistent information about age, interests, appearance, marital status, education, profession, employment, etc.- Refuses to speak to you on the phone after establishing ongoing, online intimacy.- Fails to provide direct answers to direct questions.- Appears significantly different in person from his or her online persona.- Never introduces you to friends, professional associates or family members.
12. Watch out for foreign profiles.
13. Do personal background checks
14. Do health background checks
15. Verify age
The following are tips on meeting in public from http://www.ou.edu/oupd/kidsafe/websafe.htm: If you choose to arrange a meeting, make it on YOUR terms:
1. Meet in as public a place as possible.
2. Arrange your own transportation to and from the meeting.
3. Bring a friend along for security; consider a "double-date" the first time.
4. Set your conditions for the encounter, and don't let your new friend change them.
5. Stay near other people and in lighted areas throughout the meeting.
6. If things go awry, can you positively identify the person to the police?
4. Protect yourself: protect your privacy on the Internet by utilizing the tools in your web browser (Internet Explorer, FireFox, etc.) and by installing security software like firewalls on your PC. In your web browser, click Tools on the menu bar across the top of the page and the following:
Tools → Clear Private Data/Browsing History
Tools → Options → and review the Security, Privacy, Content and other settings
5. Use common sense: above all.
