That said, there are several reasons why I'm more comfortable with the handle. One I keep coming back to is keeping my professional name out of the flame wars and assorted nastiness out there. Some people still believe in guilt by association.
I think having a handle and having anonymity aren't quite the same in this context. I find, personally, that not knowing who the reviewer is in context renders their reviews meaningless. Or, in English: If I know that you've reviewed other books I've liked, I'm more likely to trust that your take and mine will be similar enough that I'll pay attention to what you've said.
If you use a different handle or post anonymously every time, I won't, in fact, have that context on which to draw, and am much more likely to ignore you. Or, worse, take reviews as an aggregate, and lump you on a scale. Which takes time. Which I don't have. Which means I often don't bother.
I have a friend who used to put that site on her resume. She's an excellent reviewer and also rated other people's reviews as she saw them rather than going with the popularity vote. People also sent her hate mail and left nasty comments on her reviews. She actually lost a job because her potential employers went to look at her reviews and saw angry accusations flung her way. At worst, they saw her as guilty of all sorts of horrible things. At best, they saw that other people didn't like her and she didn't play well with others.
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branchandroot
no subject
Date: 2004-10-26 03:20 pm (UTC)I think having a handle and having anonymity aren't quite the same in this context. I find, personally, that not knowing who the reviewer is in context renders their reviews meaningless. Or, in English: If I know that you've reviewed other books I've liked, I'm more likely to trust that your take and mine will be similar enough that I'll pay attention to what you've said.
If you use a different handle or post anonymously every time, I won't, in fact, have that context on which to draw, and am much more likely to ignore you. Or, worse, take reviews as an aggregate, and lump you on a scale. Which takes time. Which I don't have. Which means I often don't bother.
I have a friend who used to put that site on her resume. She's an excellent reviewer and also rated other people's reviews as she saw them rather than going with the popularity vote. People also sent her hate mail and left nasty comments on her reviews. She actually lost a job because her potential employers went to look at her reviews and saw angry accusations flung her way. At worst, they saw her as guilty of all sorts of horrible things. At best, they saw that other people didn't like her and she didn't play well with others.
Noted.