A Bluesky Flame and the Case for Anonymity

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In the golden age of social media I went from tweeting with a pseudonym to tweeting with my own name. This was as true on Twitter as on Facebook. There was a sense of community that meant that we were safe to use our own names, rather than nicknames.

That age ended in 2020 when normal people, isolated by lockdowns, became familiar with Twitter and other social networks. In 2020 I was flamed more than once on Twitter, and eventually became private, after using a pseudonym. I was also flamed more than once on Mastodon instances and dumped them too.

Yesterday I was flamed on Bluesky and I looked to see if I could delete the troll but couldn’t so I blocked one account, and a second, and a third, and then I pressed the big red button metaphorically and deactivated my account.

Someone had posted that they were crying regularly so I suggested CBT, not as a troll but because it’s a technique I use on myself. I also clarified that as I don’t know the person I can’t offer personal advice. I did nothing wrong.

Although I don’t like Threads because of who it is owned by when people ask for help with something, and I offer advice and help they actually thank me. They are not so complexed that they start a flame war against me.

By now flame wars are part and parcel of social media so I don’t worry about being flamed. I worry about being flamed under my actual name. My fear, yesterday, was related to the reputation damage that these trolls could do.If they misread what I wrote, and what I meant, and defame me in their comments, then there is little to nothing I can do, except deactivate the account for a few days, or even a few weeks.

I have two main accounts on the Fediverse, one as myself, and one as a nickname. I try to post via the nickname so that if I am flamed, it only affects that account, not my identity.

And Finally

Social media is no longer fun. It stopped being fun years ago.