Archives for January 2011

Internet Anonymity

The Internet is a wonderful resource.  It offers a worldwide database of instantaneous information, available at the click of a mouse. Of course, there are drawbacks to using the Internet as a primary source of information.  Anyone can post virtually anything they wish with impunity.  As hard as some people work to research a subject and publish useful and pertinent information into this ethereal database of knowledge, it can be deliberately polluted by false information by a few insidious individuals acting with malicious intent. For example, my writing as the Atlanta Creationism Examiner has inspired comments by brave readers who call themselves names like "Pastafarian" and "Blackout". Using the cloak of an alias, these self-professed intellectuals regularly call me a liar or idiot for daring to write material expressing an opinion critical of evolution have no effect on my self-esteem.   Their remarks might be intended to hurt my feelings, but I've become immune because I've learned to ignore them. Their mode of critical analysis seems a bit cowardly, but so what?  The comments appear to reflect more on the source than their subject. The best way to deal with a childish insult is to simply ignore it.  I've stopped responding to the large majority of the comments from people who routinely insult me, unless someone says something clever.... I've learned to stop simply reading after the first insult and skip ahead.  Why waste my time and energy?  I have books to write. Any human being on the planet may pose as a reliable source of information (or, as it … [Read more...]