--- On Fri, 6/13/08, Anthony wikimail@inbox.org wrote:
Anyway, I'd be wary about what contributions I make under these circumstances. If I'm embarrassed by an edit, I should be resolving that inner conflict before editing on a public wiki. If an edit would get me in trouble with a friend or relative (or boss or enemy), I should be resolving that external conflict before editing on a public wiki. I can't think of any good reasons to edit Wikipedia anonymously, and thus I've stopped doing it.
The main good reason to edit anonynously is because Wikipedia is an open wiki and is incapable of preventing harrasment or any less seious sort of contact. I have no problem owning up to my pseudononymous edits, however I do not want an estranged relative who could easliy google my name to contact me on the wiki or by email (or any way at all). This someone who already knows my identity and a more about me than anyone online could ever dig up. And I do not wish to have contact with or be bothered by them, and unfortuantely they are not sane enough or sober enough to understand this. I am not threatened by this person, but I can be distressed by them. The internet can make 3,000 miles meaningless, so I do not use my real name online.
Not all people are targeted for harrassment because of their editing on Wikipedia. And if you are worried about being a recieving harrasment under your real identity prior to editing a wiki; I don't think using that name and making it highly googled is a good idea.
Birgitte SB