GUEST POST: The Trouble with Anonymous Legal Blogging

by Lee Walker of Law School Memoirs

Many legal bloggers prefer to write anonymously. Recognizing their views as at least partially more controversial than a carrot leads people to the "obvious" conclusion that anonymity is their silver bullet. The recognition that their personal reputation is less robust than, say, Judge Posner's must be another contributing factor--nobody wants their budding reputation to suffer because of a blog. The desire for anonymity is understandable, to an extent, but certainly requires investigation. Do you have a right to deliver sermons from an ivory tower, safe in the knowledge that your actions have no consequences, or are you just being immature? Perhaps more importantly, are you even able to maintain that anonymity?

[Post continues by following the link below]

The stereotypical view of blogs as the wondrous mega-solution to concentrated media ownership has been challenged for some time. There are no editors to dictate what bloggers write and, to a large extent, pressure from advertisers is minimal (most Google AdSense users will agree the terms are more than reasonable); however, that is by no means a guarantee blogs will be a bastion of free speech. It's obvious, after only a few years, that they aren't. I'm interested in why and I've concluded the deficiency stems from the gross misnomer that "free speech" has become.

Bloggers are free to say what they want, sure, but their employers are equally free to fire them. Bloggers aren't stupid, they realize their opinions can have consequences and that creates fear. Whether or not the fear is well-founded appears to be moot. Without anonymity's safety-guarantee, bloggers are just as likely as journalists to self-censor their opinions--and that's bad.

The right to speak freely definitely exists, but that does not mean it will be exercised. A blogger who clerks for a controversial judge is hardly going to criticize that judge on a blog--even if the judge deserves it--unless the blogger's anonymity is guaranteed. The judge might take the criticism in his stride and give his clerk a hearty slap on the back, but is anyone really willing to take the risk? This isn't to say that anonymity is desirable, it's just a sad conclusion that it may sometimes be necessary.

Many disagree. A blogger should be prepared to take the consequences of their actions. That's a valid point, but if you think I'll let it escape without analysis then I'll punch you in the head. The argument against anonymity rests on some compelling points. Points that won't be easily defeated. Points that are strong enough to wield a broadsword. Points that could kick your ass, kill you, and leave you in a shallow grave beside some godforsaken country lane.

The most obvious observation about anonymous bloggers is they want to have their cake and eat it too. They want to be famous, but not too famous. Seeking a safe level of fame, they conclude that anonymity will allow them to do what they want without regard for potential consequences. Some find this attitude repugnant, but most are happy with the less serious claim that it's amateur. How can a blogger expect to be taken seriously if that same blogger won't even reveal who they are?

The anonymous blogger has something to hide. That's a tempting conclusion. The refusal to participate fully as an identifiable member of the community will always seem strange on first inspection. The behavior is reminiscent of a serial killer; those guys are notoriously reclusive. Could anonymous bloggers be nascent Ted Bundys? Many blog readers think along those lines, albeit in a less extreme fashion. If a blogger can't admit to who they are then there is no sense taking their opinions seriously--it's a point that won't lie down.

Pragmatic bloggers may be more interested in a different question. Is anonymous blogging even possible? There's a fair argument in the negative. Truly anonymous blogging requires a lot of effort, and may even be self-contradictory. Staying anonymous is not simply a matter of picking a clever nickname to go by. Anonymous bloggers will have to realize their anonymity generates a need in certain people to discover who they are. That need usually results from the opinion that the blogger has something to hide, from attention-seeking behavior, or from simple cruelty. Whatever the reason, and whether you like it or not, people will try to find out who you are.

If you want to be anonymous and you want to stay that way then you'll have to change your entire approach to blogging. You can't just hide behind a nickname and pretend that solves everything, it doesn't. A blog is usually about the everyday life of the blogger, it doesn't take a genius to figure that; however, many are slow to comprehend what that means. If you are writing about specific events in your life then don't be surprised when someone takes that information, chucks it into Google, and eventually ends up with your personal details.

As an example, a law student may write about their participation in an upcoming legal competition. If the law student is lucky, they may win that competition. A canny reader might take the name of that competition, search for it in Google, and be directed to a list of that competition's winners. Since most competitions only have one or a few winners, it is then only a matter of minutes until the reader has ascertained the student's identity. After that, it's only a matter of seconds until the reader posts the student's identity on the student's blog. I know this can happen, because I am that student.

All of this means that, if you hold anonymity so dearly, you might have to make some real sacrifices to maintain it. Specifically, you'll need to curtail many details when you write about personal aspects of your life. Your blog is most likely about your life; that means your (truly) anonymous blog may lack a personal touch. Aren't personal touches the point of having a blog? You might find that, in an attempt to maintain your anonymity, your blog has become generic waffle that is of not much use or interest to anyone. Wasn't your goal, in remaining anonymous, to exercise free speech and help people? Looks like you just defeated yourself.

All the practical troubles, combined with the moral objections, might lead one to dismiss anonymous blogging altogether as a pipedream. Then again, one is often led to conclusions that are obviously false by following wisdom that is obviously correct. It's the logic you apply to the facts that is most important, not the facts themselves. Where would the world be, for example, without the Washington D.C. source we knew only as "Deep Throat"? It's quite possible we'd still be living in a vainglorious regime of the Nixon. Okay, it's not possible at all--since he's dead--but I'm sure you get the picture. Anonymity can be important.

Consider, however, if your blog is really as important as Watergate. Unless you're insane, you'll come to the conclusion that it isn't. Therefore, you should make a practical appraisal of whether you even need to be anonymous. If there is a real chance that your opinions could harm your prosperity, and you sincerely feel those opinions need to be heard, then you may have a case. Otherwise, anonymity may be more trouble than it's worth.

If you're still intent on remaining anonymous then you might want to consider a quick note, at the top of your blog, asking readers to not reveal your identity in the event they come across it. This tactic works against most readers, but obviously won't work against a motivated enemy. That's the only piece of advice I'll leave you with, anonymous reader. If you want more then you'll have to give me either your name or $9.80.

About the Author: This post was written by Lee Walker, who prefers to be known as Dwayne on his weblog Law School Memoirs--thank you very much.

Comments

[Pete Holiday]

Very interesting post -- it's difficult to remain anonymous on the internet for long, probably to remain anonymous indefinitely, but you can certainly postpone it for a while if you do some reasonably intelligent things like changing major details and making sure not to leave any virtual breadcrumbs to your location.

For the former, doing things like time shifting (waiting a few weeks to announce that you won some contest or after it's scrolled off the main page, move the announcement back to before the real event you were in actually happened), renaming major events (heck, pick the name of a competition a different school runs), or just making things up can help. For the latter, being sure not to click on your own links too quickly after you post, not commenting on other people's sites (except via proxy), and making sure to email from a non-identifiable account (gmail is a good one) are good ideas lest some sneaky computer-nerd outs you.

On the other hand: you shouldn't write anything on the internet or in email that you don't want everyone you know to read and attribute to you.

[E. McPan]

Some bloggers might choose to remain anonymous out of respect for their significant others or families who might have jobs that require a level of secrecy or discretion, or maybe the family just enjoys their privacy. I think this is another reason for anonymity that many people tend to overlook. So it's not always a matter of bloggers wanting their cake and eating it too.

I agree that it is dang near impossible to remain anoymous without some effort but I don't necessarily see anonymity as anything negative or suspect.

[jeff]

This was a real dilemma for me. On the one hand, I was concerned about repercussions at my "serious" job and so I began as air anonymous publisher. After awhile, I realized I had made a mistake. I'm very proud of my work. It's fiction, not an account of anything I do on the job. No reason to be ashamed. I now proudly claim ownership of my blog

[The Law Fairy]

I call myself "quasi-anonymous" because I go by a pseudonym (one that I find kind of hilarious, for my own strange reasons). I don't make particular efforts to hide who I am -- people have actually come up to me and said they read my blog, even when I hadn't told them it was mine. I don't mind if I'm not exactly anonymous, but my thinking was that I didn't want people to be able to pull up my blog on a google search of my name. I'll make them go to a little more effort than that. Makes it harder for future clients and such to find out about my personal life :)