Thursday, June 18, 2009

Checkmate

Ask my students, I play hard and vicious and I play to win. One group, years ago called me Pit bull. I am the epitome of a sore loser. Now, before you read too far, see if you can figure out who this post is addressed to.

Anonymity is a wonderful thing. You can say or write anything you want without fear of repercussions and without having to own up to what you have said or done.

When the anonymous person gets tired of being anonymous, he can adopt a pseudonym and write under that name. Writing under a pen name, such as Suit Lover, gives the individual a sense of identity, a stronger commitment to what he is writing. While the individual is still unknown, he starts to believe the name he is using is real and he is now worried that he will be exposed. I know, I love being Ms. Pod and I have these same worries.

The person using the pen name might start to get some heat for the things he is writing. This causes him to get a little uptight and become defensive. The person fears that his true identity has been discovered and will be revealed. At first the writer claims not to be the person he actually is as he fears discovery. In fact, he makes up an entirely new identity, changing his age, profession and even course studies. When this tactic fails,the person tries to change writing styles. While the beginning writings might have been well written and confident, the next set is riddled with grammatical mistakes and typos. There are twists and turns that make no sense and the postings are full of contradictions. This is all an attempt to make the reader believe the author is the person he is pretending to be, not the person he is suspected of being. [He would never go to this much trouble unless he really worried about being discovered.]

Finally, this attempt to dissuade also fails. As a last ditch effort the anonymous author volunteers to reveal himself privately, if only there was a way. Just returning to the original posts shows the reader how very bright the anonymous poster is and how easy it would be to reveal himself privately. Many of the pen names of the commenters on this blog have been revealed to me. [Although by now, only a face to face would make me believe who a certain commenter actually is.]

Mr. Suit Lover, you try to convince us all that you are who you pretend to be but the game is over. Checkmate! I will not respond to your posts but feel free to comment away, as often as you like. And, on the chance that we meet and you really are an 18 year old, [I will want some proof that you are the author of the posts.] I'll admit you got me good and I will post my sincerest apologies right here on this blog.

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

You tell me how to prove I wrote the posts and I'll do it. I do have proof of some of the conversations with Suit (ie educational philosophy) that I'd be more than willing to show you (in fact, I'm sure you've already seen the proof).

Tell me exactly how I can please you in revealing my identity, and I'll do it. At this point I'd rather give up anonymity to stop being accused of lying.

Suit Lover said...

and I meant to post that as Suit Lover, my apologies.

Pissedoffteacher said...

You know where to find me.

Suit Lover said...

Yes, but unfortunately getting into Packemin requires an appointment. Putting "Suit Lover" down at the front desk wouldn't really convince security to let me in.

Pissedoffteacher said...

You seem to have inside knowledge of day to day stuff at Packemin. I have a feeling you could find your way in.

Suit Lover said...

During the regular school year, no doubt I could. But during Regents week, I don't think I'd be able to.

This might just have to wait until September, and by that point, there won't be any reason for me to even reveal myself anymore.

WriterRichO said...

Good times... Oy!

Anonymous said...

Pissed Off,

I think you meant "sore loser".
I believe I saw a comment where SL asked if there was a way to contact you.

If SL wants to contact you, just go to the profile page and hit "email". I think at this point it would be much easier than making an appointment.

If SL is indeed only an 18 year old, then I can understand how someone that young can't comprehend the arguments we put forth on what makes a good principal.

Again, SL only had to say he/she had a good relationship with Suit and not accuse you of being "unfair" which he/she did in the very first comment.

A principal should care about students, but ALL students, not just a select few.

Schoolgal

Pissedoffteacher said...

Thanks for the correction. No matter how many times I proof read, I always miss something. My son usually e-mails me a nasty correction.

I thought of the same way of contacting me but I figured someone who understands educational philosophy as well as our Suit Loving friend would be able to figure that out on his own.

Anonymous said...

I thought so too because kids today are so savvy with computers and blogs.

Schoolgal

Suit Lover said...

I didn't even think to check your blogger profile--I wouldn't have thought you would have an email listed. Even so, didn't you say that a face-to-face meeting was the only way you'd believe me?

I never said I was an expert on educational philosophy, all I said what that I spoke to Suit about it on various occasions and thought his made sense/was a good one. As I haven't discussed educational philosophy with anyone but Suit, I cannot call myself an expert.

As far as the unfair point, I'm not going to go into that again. I think I've said enough about the subject. At least I said unfair and didn't completely dismiss PO'ed opinion and call it flat out wrong, like I have been told.

As far as sore loser, I don't think I lost. I never viewed it as a battle, rather an exchange of views.

Anonymous said...

Look SL, I for one believe you did not want to stir the pot. But unfortunately, you should have revised your first post before hitting send. Then you went on to say that you know students who had this blogger--and left it at that. The implication seemed negative until you had to explain again.

So if you are sincere, then please just email Pissed Off using the profile's email address. Pissed Off will respect your identity and the 2 of you can come to some closure.

Schoolgal