Blogging and Anonymity

Why, indeed, add to the ocean of meaningless noise bobbing about in cyberspace? Some short notes from the past:

• In some way, it was a purely natural progression from the very retro bulletin board service (the term "BBS" ring any bells?), to a webpage, to the newer (though not newest) creature: a blog.


• Without any pretense at altruism, the pre-eminent reason for starting a blog was as a pensieve for my thoughts and ideas, a storehouse readily accessible anywhere in the world with an internet connection, less likely to be lost or stolen like a physical notebook and retrievable if ever hijacked.


• However, through the years, some people have claimed to have been encouraged by The Book of Shadow (TBOS). Well, thank God that he uses even sinful saved sinners to cheer on his people. So I continue to blog for an additional reason, hoping to edify others.
  
  
• The disadvantage of the disparate jottings found in notebooks is that the motley collection cannot and do not aim to reflect the writer accurately. So it is with TBOS.
  
  This opens me up to much misunderstanding, especially with people who first come to know me through that blog. Misunderstandings might be staved or lessened by "cleaning up after myself" with pagefuls of qualifications and limitations and footnotes of evidential facts and citations. But I have no wish to live in and through a blog and spend a large portion of my time and energy thus - time and energy which would be much more profitably employed otherwise.


• Despite the articulated wish that TBOS be a repository of sorts, the fact remains that it is in the public domain. Therefore, there is much that will not be put in here, for example, the specific and private confidences of others or specific works of charity (and other sorts of living out the reality of being one of God's people).
  
  TBOS might seem a bit atas and a bit academic. But if you do know me in "real life", please do check up on me separately in these areas. TBOS should not be a window-display of my external godliness.
  

...which leads to the question of the "real life" identity of Shadow. In this regard, I seek your understanding in my wish to remain anonymous.

Why remain anonymous?

• No harm is meant in keeping both identities distinct and I do not intend to hide behind the blog identity nor be less responsible in publishing the contents of this blog because of it.
  
  In fact, I didn't quite set out to keep my identity a mystery. This has been my sysop nick since those BBS days way back in the late 80's and early '90s.


• However, time has shown that one of the advantages of maintaining a completely separate blog identity is how helpful it is in removing at least one temptation to self-centredness. Many blogs become showcases for their owners: demonstrating how cool, how sophisticated, how talented or how godly they are and at times become the proverbial shops where bloggers display their wares and advertise their attractiveness to all. I do not wish for these temptations to self-centredness and hypocrisy in addition to those that already exist in daily life.
  

Other stuff

• I may not reply to all comments left on TBOS. For now, "real" world relationships (and the time spent on them) pwns virtual ones.


• Nevertheless, please free to disagree strongly, within the parameters of common civility, with whatever's on TBOS.


• Feeding the trolls is highly discouraged. And trolls are highly encouraged to find another bridge to crawl under.