Having not long got back from work, I was just perusing Blogland prior to heading for my bed, when I came across an interesting post (here) on the issue of using a pseudonym. It touched on how other people might perceive you for not openly using your own identity on line, an issue I've bumped up against recently, when I was accused of various crimes, including hypocrisy, part of the 'evidence' for which seemed to be my 'hiding' behind my nom de plume. The irony of that kind of accusation is that my use of a pseudonym actually allows me to speak honestly, while maintaining the most important prerequisite for me, as far as my carrying on with blogging is concerned - the safety of my family. I have said this before, but perhaps not recently, so I'll say it again - if there was only me to consider, I would blog under my real name. But because I fall into a category of person that attracts so much opprobrium, namely my being a boylover, if I was open about my identity, there are enough vigilante-minded bigots out there who might take it upon themselves to apply their version of 'street justice', and I'm just not prepared to take the risk of anything like that affecting my wife and daughter. At the end of the day, it's no fault whatsoever of theirs that I am who I am, and regardless of anyone's opinion of what I might 'deserve', they deserve to be safe and secure.
Another issue I saw in the blog post I've linked to was that Google have apparently deleted the complete accounts of people who've attempted to use pseudonyms on their new Google+ social networking site. I wasn't intending to join in any case, but if that kind of thinking spreads to Blogger, vast swathes of the blogging community will be decimated. Of the blogs I read regularly, very few indeed are written by those writing under their own, full names. I'll certainly be looking for a new home for my blogs if the use of real names becomes mandatory here.
Love & best wishes to all
Sammy B
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