Anonymity Undone

Grant Tabler
Ian Reilly
MDST 2020
15 November 2010

Anonymity Undone

The Internet has long been seen as a medium of anonymity and freedom. With the lack of governing or regulations it has become an area of free expression. However, with this freedom of anonymous speech and expression comes the darker side of anonymity. The Internet also allows for people to post slanderous or hateful things with complete freedom and safety. However, recently Blizzard Entertainment decided to take a stand against this kind of behaviour on their enormous gaming forum for the game World of Warcraft. They proposed a system which would link the first and last name from each player’s account information to all posts made on these forums. The response was an outcry from the community to cancel this change. This proposed change encapsulates many of the debates about the decentralized, anonymous model of communication on the internet as a whole, with larger implications of accountability in other aspects of life. This paper intends to highlight some of the key debates related to this change and explore the larger implications this change holds for accountability in other aspects of our lives.

A Razorblade in Our Perspective

Grant Tabler
Greg Kelley
AHSS 2020
4 November 2010

A Razorblade in Our Perspective

Halloween is a time of year that is inherently conducive to a greater amount of freedom amongst its child participants. Children are able to dress up in costume, stay out late, and eat free candy that they receive from their neighbours on a night of general goodwill. However, when one hears of Halloween in the media, this childhood freedom is curtailed by some looming threat of malicious attackers out to hurt our vulnerable loved ones. Though there are numerous examples of this perspective, this paper will choose to focus on an analysis on this media phenomenon from a documentary. In “Bowling for Columbine”, filmmaker Michael Moore’s analysis of the media exemplifies their use of negativity, consonance, and typification to control the United States through fear.