st: Anonymous nonnies

[Marcello Pagano <pagano@hsph.harvard.edu>]

Dear Listers,

As list owner, I don't often lay down the law on Statalist. Nick Cox, 
some others and I usually play bad cops and good cop. They are the bad 
cops niggling away if you are unclear, don't give precise code, omit 
references or even misspell Stata. There is, however, one key point on 
which I want, gently but firmly, to be adamant, and on which Nick and I 
agree. The Statalist tradition over its entire history has been that 
people give their real names and do not hide behind fake or cute names 
or identifiers. If you wish to post to Statalist, you should use your 
real name. This is, please, to be considered a requirement, not an 
option. Other lists and forums have their own styles, which are often 
different, and that is for them to decide. There should be no reason why 
you can't say who you are on Statalist -- or if there is, please keep 
quiet, or ask your question elsewhere. If you don't want to comply with 
this requirement, that is your view, but you are likely to find yourself 
removed from the list, or even ostracized and not have your questions 
answered. You choose, but this is becoming more of an issue of late, and 
I hope we don't go down the anonymous road because that removes a level 
of trust and friendliness from the character this list has acquired over 
the years.

I should also take this opportunity to remind you that once something 
has been posted on the list, it will probably remain available to 
"everyone" "forever", as I taught my kids.  So please be aware of this 
when posting phone numbers etc.  Once out there I do not have the 
wherewithal to remove postings.

Thanks for listening,

m.p.
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