Whether something is true, or not, has little to do with who says it. The author really only matters when arguing from authority, expertise, or experience.

A merit of a vulgar media, whether it's on-line publication, or the wave of pamphleteering and publication that followed Gutenberg's invention of movable type, is that it encourages critical thought. The expectation for people to think critically is made more explicit - something that strikes me as healthy for our society.

Generally speaking, the people who are heeded on-line are ones that have established themselves, so, while the individual may well be anonymous, the personae are often well known and respected.

Did we all forget so quickly the greatest "Anonymous" writer in recent political history? Mr. Joe "Swampland" Klein himself.

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www.futuremajority.com

Hey, I love openness and honesty as much as the next guy (uh-oh, I just gave away my sex), but if I want to rob a bank, set my hair on fire, ride a bicycle on the freeway, etc, I don't want it to be real obvious just who I am. That's why I always pull a nylon stocking over my head whenever I go outside: total anonymity.

"Death before being dishonored any more." - Col. Ted Westhusing

The subject line refers to the caption of a New Yorker cartoon. The image in the cartoon shows two dogs in front of a CRT terminal. Point is that, except on video chats, no one knows with whom she or he is communicating on the internet.

So, particular instance? You didn't really give anything away, Jimbo92107. To start with, "guy" is a non-gender specific term for lots of people. More importantly, you could have used the moniker "Jimbo" or the faked slip "guy" to throw us off.

Which leads to the main point: Any rational person will assess the weight of any on-line post primarily on the basis of intrinsic merit. Thesis clear? Logic impeccable? Evidence solid and properly documented? Cool! Otherwise? Perhaps entertaining. Perhaps offensive. But definitely disposable.

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Disclosure: I'm a 64 year old male academic with a Ph.D. from one of our nation's leading research universities. … Unless I'm lying.