On Fri, Aug 04, 2000 at 03:07:46AM -0500, Mary Siegel wrote:
> Winship wrote:
> >I would tell you to tell the person "list policy is we do not allow
> >anonymous postings" (I don't on my lists) but the vagaries of
> >"registration" of "names"  does put you in a bind.
>
> She understands the policy, but she doesn't know why the other person
> "can post anonymously." I keep telling her Listserv must have
> malfunctioned. I guess what I want to know at this point is simply
> this: Am I right in my belief that Listserv is *supposed* to look up
> the names when the messages come in without one? Is AOL an exception
> of some sort? If it is, then why doesn't it?

I don't understand the concern. Anyone can pose as anyone
in cyberspace. If I wanted to, I could have posted as
"Mary Siegel <[log in to unmask]>." Compared to this
possibility, someone leaving off the name and simply using
a correct email address seems rather innocuous. Even if
the name is included there is no guarantee that there is
such a person in meatspace.

What I care about is content, not the "name" associated
with the address. I welcome posts from pseudonyms posted
through anonymous remailers. Anyone with the ability to
establish a pseudonym via a remailer chain is likely to
have something interesting to say. In contrast, the fact
that Dumb N. Dumber uses his meatspace name to post
doesn't interest me at all.

We don't (yet) have cops at every mailbox checking ID
before a letter can be mailed. Why should cyberspace be
any different?

-rex