No being coy about "maybe I am, maybe I'm not." That's just rude and obnoxious.

Yes, I agree. I think if someone is deliberately obfuscating their identity or if they are using a sockpuppet to be a troll, then they are really infringing on the atmosphere of the board.

Okay, this is a personal ish, and it's going to sound arrogant, but having googled me, i know it's true.

Sometimes I want to weigh in on a show topic and I don't feel comfortable because I'm Allyson and it could get posted elsewhere, or Whedonesqued, as has happened before. There's things I don't say, that I think are interesting, or may be of interest, under this name. I have seriously considered using my LJ name before to be able to talk about some things, enter discussions freely, without some folks thinking this came from Joss Whedon or Tim Minear or something. That does happen from time to time.

I'd like to have the sockpuppet option, you know? What about that would bug?

I am missing why people can't be funny without sockpuppets.

there are levels of irritation. Let's not think that that anyone is bringing up every single irritation they have. I think we all know that people ignore or skim or skip things everyday that they find irritating. Obviously for some, this issue is more than mild irritation.

Oh, pseuds are next, don't you worry. (Ima go change my name legally to JohnSweden for when the Buffista birth certificate swipe card login happens.)

However I'm on the opposite side and I've found them pretty funny when they've popped up.

Some of the sockpuppetry has been some of the funniest stuff we've done here. Trudy's MARCH stuff was really well done in the context of all the griping (in good fun) that was going on here. Let's not stifle that very occasional creativity in the interest of, what? The board has the ways and means to deal with posters who step out of line. Sockpuppets have to hew to those rules the same as everyone else.

I am missing why people can't be funny without sockpuppets.

We can. We can also be funny with sockpuppets. How many ways of funny do we have to avoid?

What about that would bug?

Because I want to know who you are, to engage with you.

I suppose it's potentially your loss if you engage in a discussion without your history, but I want to know if it's Allyson that I'm arguing with. It'll help shape the argument (and for the better, I think, btw).

It just strikes me as cheating.

Of course, maybe I'll know it's you, because I've studied your every mannerism -- or whatever, but everyone should know, or no one.

Now I want to challenge every newbie "Are you Allyson??? Pinkie swear? How close are you to the earth? Where's your magic?"

Trudy's MARCH stuff was really well done in the context of all the griping (in good fun) that was going on here.

Absolutely. Also, I figured out pretty quickly who MARCH was. At the same time, if anyone is made uncomfortable (or is just plain curious), asking "who are you?" is a perfectly legitimate question.

I am missing why people can't be funny without sockpuppets.

Different folks laugh at different things. When I had two roommates, tow of us loved MASH, and one just hated it. One roommate loved Curb your Ethusiasm, and the other two of us just despised the humor in that show. I find the sockpuppets a riot much of the time. I also know that my sense of humor is not everyone's.

If they people that are bothered and vote that way are in the majority, why shouldn't it go their way?

There's a rebuttal here that I'm having a hard time formulating, but it runs along the lines of : Does this mean the United States should turn into Jesusland, if the majority of people want it?

What if the majority of people want to make this a board where we're openly racist, or sexist? What if the majority of people want everybody to post in French, or Esperanto?

Being in the majority doesn't make one right, or mean that that's how things should be, even if we vote on it.

That being said, I'm still not sure I've said this effectively, or how valid my point here is, or if it can be properly applied to the current situation.

Because I want to know who you are, to engage with you.

But in the situation we're talking about, you would know that it's Allyson or that it's me. It's not like we're concealing our identity from the community. Just from the people observing the community.