HACKER Q&A
📣 _xivi

Are you getting more hesitant to share and being open online?


People used to avoid certain corporations due to concerns about their data policy but it seems we're past that. With advancement in fields like data mining, the rise of LLMs and computing power, any data you share online is now being scrapped, hoarded and abused by everyone, it's a free-for-all. No regard to privacy, ethical concerns, or even the license it was published under.

Do you feel less open about participating on public forums, publishing personal blog posts, or even contributing to open source? (I'm aware of the irony of asking the question here)

  👤 enasterosophes Accepted Answer ✓
I wonder if you're posting about our "real" identities, as they're understood by our immediate family, in-person friends, colleagues, banks, and governments; or online interactions in general, even when some form of anonymity provides some distance?

I'm definitely more hesitant these days to associate my "real" identity with my online identity. Easy example is I only access HN through a VPN and a pseudonym. I'm mentally prepared for the day that this account will be de-anonymised, and I don't post anything too crazy under this name against that day. Still, I'd prefer to keep a separation, and I'd probably start a new account if that's what it takes to retain anonymity.

None of this should come as a surprise. McLuhan predicted from the mid-20th century that we would end up with a global small-town mentality. The "global village" wasn't a platitude, it was a warning.

👤 ggm
Yes I do but for a mixture of reasons, as in not just the ones you outlined but some of these, and also others: taking a position online invites critique which can be unwelcome, and due to the difficulties amending the record if e.g. you change your mind, irretrievably remain bound to your online persona.

Almost a decade ago I made comments to political players I now regret. They were unkind. Their politics are shit and riddled with religious overtones but the comments I made were personal and objectifying.

I don't want to be associated with those remarks, and in a pre internet world people got to be forgotten for their mistakes and mispeaks. Now it's far harder.