Mystery Men

Dear Ms. Coleman,

It is interesting to know that there are a group of people that are known by the formal name "Anonymous".  Many times I have been on blogs and other sites and people choose to comment and post blogs under anonymous rather than their name.  The reason I believe people choose to do this is that they feel that they have a sense a power knowing that they can say whatever it is that they please without anyone knowing who they actually are.  Majority of the time, it is the people that choose to be unknown are the ones that are most negative on the internet.  Similarly, 4chan, one of the places where Anonymous was created is known for being controversial and it is only fitting that this trend would develop here.  Many times these posts are purely for comedic value or “lulz” but many times it can be a deeper issue than who is behind the computer.   

It is a little frightening to know that people can say or post whatever they want on the web with little consequences because they are after all anonymous.  A prime example is hackers like you mentioned.  Think of all the celebrities or even your friends who have had their Facebook and Twitter pages hacked.  It is almost a helpless feeling to knowing that it is very hard to figure out the source of the invasion of privacy.  Although people who post things anonymously on the internet are usually associated with negativity, there are some people who choose to bring awareness to controversial issues but just simply choose to keep their identity to themselves.  When dealing with the internet, you never know is behind the screen.  In connection to Second Life, there are many people living lives on second lives with avatars completely different from their real live selves.  They too in a sense are being anonymous.   Dangers lurk all over the internet being with people being anonymous.   You never know who people are who they say, or don’t say!

Kelly Myers