Wednesday, July 14, 2004

I've had issues with Steven I. Weiss, who doesn't seem able to understand my "take" about my own anonymity on my blog.

Now, he urges readers of his blog to use Google to figure out quickly and easily who I am.

Well of course anyone who has nothing better to do can follow the clues and figure out who I am. I hope that my readers have more worthwhile pursuits filling up their time, but I've always known that there is the risk of someone who is bored going through my blog and following the trail to my identity. That's a risk of blogging. I accept that.

By leaving my name out of my blog, I'm at least preventing people from figuring out where I live within 2 seconds; this way, it will take them 6 seconds.

That may seem like a ridiculous difference, but it's what makes me feel comfortable enough to continue blogging. Everyone has their own thresholds for privacy and security. The same way that my personal anti-terrorism threshold involves moving to Jerusalem and eating in cafes but being afraid to take the bus. Others take the bus all the time. And some move to Hebron. And some won't come to Israel at all.

There are some things in life that can't be explained logically and don't have to be. I guess one of the things that comes with maturity is the ability to respect other people's thresholds, whether you understand them or not.

***UPDATE**** Point well-taken that he doesn't "urge" readers to Google me. I acknowledge that word to be an overstatement.

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