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From UMassWiki

Anonymity or Accountability?

Quiz two asked students to consider the results from quiz one, three conversations

about posting privately (with a pseudonym) or publicly (with an identifiable moniker), and then to describe the advantages and disadvantages of

writing publicly under an alias

advantages: pseudonym

• “gives the author more freedom and less inhibitions about writing something personal”
• “you can say whatever you want….lots of comments and probably support”
• “you won’t get a tarnished reputation for your thoughts”
• “you can express your opinion, whatever those may be”
• “you personally won’t be blamed for bad writing”
• “more comfortable publicizing their work”
• “people will still get the message you are trying to get across without holding anything personal against the [writer]”
• “feel free to speak openly”
• “nobody knows but you” = “could be good for the short run”
• “complete confidence. You could write whatever you want and not worry about consequences.”
• “your identity is protected, people can’t tie your work to you.”
• “State your view more colloquially and honestly. Not being worried about others judging you or disliking you.”
• “allows people to be more open because they are not tied directly to their words.”
• “helps the author separate himself from his words in case they fail”
• “you wouldn’t have to deal with the fame”

disadvantages: pseudonym

• “should be allowed”
• “If you become this good writer and somebody wanted to help you become famous…you might be wasting your time.”
• “you won’t get the credit for helping somebody”
• “the audience not knowing who you are”
• “no one will know who they are really praising for good work”
• “I don’t think there really are disadvantages”
• “you will not receive much credit for your work”
• “not as satisfying as speaking face-to-face”
• “nobody knows but you” = “could be bad for the long run”
• “you may not be able to be credit[ed] for your work, people could be very critical about your work, friends could talk about your work behind your back while right in front of you.”
• “people won’t know you, and your point may not be as clear as if they knew who you were.”
• “no one knows who you are to give you personal compliments, good work cannot be recognized as yours.”
• “people can say what they please without consideration. That can get ugly sometimes.”
• “prevents praise if [the words don’t] fail”
  
  

writing publicly under your own name

disadvantages: public

• “there’s stuff you can say…without worrying about repercussions”
• “the writing can be compared to other writings by the same author and criticized differently”
• “It there’s a mishap, everyone will know who you are.”
• “somebody disagreeing with you could potentially ruin your name.”
• “Sometimes you may not be writing what others want to hear (about you).”
• “everyone knows who to criticize and it can be done publicly.”
• “if your writing piece wasn’t so great, people would be able to criticize it.”
• “people may not understand your ideas, and may use that against you.”
• “communicating online is not as satisfying as communicating face-to-face”
• “More criticisms. May hurt one’s ego…”
• “everyone could see your writing and if you are uncomfortable with it that would be a huge problem. Also what you say now could come back to haunt you later.”
• “anyone can see our name and tie it to our opinion, which they may strongly disagree with.”
• “you might be too insecure about people you don’t know reading personal thoughts. It could be plagiarized.”
• “anyone and everyone can know what you say”
• “If you write poorly, your name will always be associated with it.”

advantages: public

• “the notoriety and credit”
• “the ability to take credit for the work, which, if the work is decent, can be beneficial,”
• “you get credit if you say something really smart”
• “the chance that your opinion might change somebody’s outlook on life or positively affect them in general.”
• “you get to say whatever you want, do whatever you want with your writing. There are no rules, no guidelines, just you and your mind.”
• “fame and credit for your work”
• “if you wrote a good article or piece, you would get recognized for it”
• “you can express your feelings and possibly help others”
• “sharing thoughts and ideas easier”
• “More criticisms. May hurt one’s ego, but builds character.”
• “you could quickly find others that agree with you and you could get good feedback from anyone about your writing.”
• “allows the reader to possibly already know the author.”
• “constructive feedback, if it’s good it will be recognized.”
• “ensures a bit more honesty because writer’s can’t hide behind a fake name.”
• “helps you become known to the public and makes you work harder.”

Ready or Not for public writing?

Based on the quiz one responses, how would you characterize the class’ overall feeling about writing for the public?

• “a bit nervous for some, and the rest don’t care.”
• “some don’t mind. But many feel it violates their privacy.”
• “writing for the public will be a new experience where they can receive honest criticism.”
• “mixed feelings. Although I would say it was leaning more towards the side of agreement.”
• “Pretty good, good idea, it creates self-esteem.”
• “there are some in the class that feel (as I do) hesitant and nervous of writing for the public.”
• “still unsure about the audience. We are still having trouble deciding who we want to write to.”
• “doesn’t seem to mind writing for the public.”
• “The class has some talented writers and seems like it would enjoy writing for the public.”
• “Overall, it is widely accepted.”
• “tended to have no problem writing for the public as long as they are able to express their thoughts/feelings.”
• “some of them care and others don’t. Overall, when they write, they don’t want to write something stupid, everyone wants others to view them as intelligent students.”
• “Not good. I don’t think the class is ready to share their work on the web for the entire community.”
• “I would guess they would enjoy it.”

Critical Thinking Stimulus

Students chose and then explained their logic concerning the most important relationship between The Jacket and the quotes from The Text-Wrestling Book is:

between mind and consciousness

(selected by five students)

• “(aside from the obvious fact that there were no teachers, students, authors, or writing involved in the plot of The Jacket), when Stark was put into the jacket, he was totally with his own, channeling his own thoughts and words into a productive means of seeing the future to save his life. While writers do not need to get their lives saved, they do the same thing with their thoughts and consciousness.”
• “the movie showed a series of events that mostly happened while Jack was unconscious. It showed that the mind can go to many different places. Also the quotes from our book show ideas that you may think of unconsciously.”
• “They both rely on thoughts and awareness. Writing requires the author to think and be in touch with feelings…Jack is also dealing with his inner feelings and conscience.”
• “I recall reading that writing is a way to examine the history of the author, this was mirrored by Jack’s adventures forward in time…Writing and Jack’s experiences both are trips into one’s mind, but also into a place where one isn’t always conscious of their current surroundings.”
• “demonstrates the connection between what you think and how you are aware of the outside world.”

among mind, consciousness, and writing

(selected by seven students)

• “The Jacket is completely based upon mind and consciousness, but the quotes take this a step further and explain how good writing comes through one’s state of consciousness. A person can better understand t heir personality through writing if they are in the correct state of mind. It is the same with the movie, except he doesn’t write about it but instead feels it.”
• “the movie had a lot to do with the main character’s mind versus his consciousness. Also, the selections in the book dealt with how to read and write using the two. The Jacket also ends with Jack reading an important piece that he wrote about his life, and the Text Wrestling book is all about writing.”
• “the movie shows a message of being aware of the time we spend and how we spend while the quotes emphasizes the need to be aware of our thoughts and contents when it comes to our writing.”
• “The text book wrote about how you should be conscious of how your mind works and how that comes forth in your writing…you should think about how your ideas should come off to others in your writing. This ties in with The Jacket because they have to try and make at least their most basic ideas make sense in the writing.”
• “The Jacket deals with struggles of consciousness within the mind, and the quotes from the Text-Wrestling Book discuss how writing reflects your own consciousness and how one can effectively put one’s thoughts into writing.”
• “Being able to understand the situation (mind and consciousness) would have only helped Jack. Being able to then transpose this to a meaningful letter to Jackie’s mother was the most important because he was able to alter the future.”

between an author and his/her audience

(selected by four students)

• “This connection is the root definite between the two texts. In order to understand someone, we must know some history or background in order to fully understand the author’s intention and context. In The Jacket, Jack does not have a background, which makes him appear insane.”
• “Because somebody, an author, wrote both The Jacket and the Text-Wrestling Book and had to write based on the rhetorical triangle and think about it.”
• “It is how the viewer interprets the story, quote, whatever it is. It is a personal thing almost custom made for whoever reads it.”

between the teacher and her students

(no selections)