Sometimes I wish we lived in a double blind world. Because I feel like I’ve skirted accountability for things in the past when the “right” people liked me, and also been held unfairly accountable for things in the past when the “right” people didn’t like me. 1/x
And talking through complex issues and thought processes with people engenders sympathy, which often squashes accountability. Or at least, people are comparing the motivations behind approaches they understand to the impact of approaches when they don’t understand the motivation. And there’s really no way to square that circle. 2/x
So we need more anonymous forums and more discussion about concepts without specifics (or with lots of specifics instead of just one) and perhaps not in the heat of the moment. 3/3
@yaelwrites That was one of the more interesting (and more personally nostalgic) parts of Snowden's autobiography. He, like me, came of age online in the late `90s and observed that the prevalence of anonymous forums and chat allowed him to try out a new idea or belief and be able to abandon it (by switching to a new persona) once he found it didn't hold up. Now such explorations online are tied to your identity and follow you forever.
@kyle I could definitely relate to that section!
@kyle @yaelwrites And held against you retroactively as the Overton window continues to shift.