On anonymity

For me, the internet doesn't really provide me a place to say what I want without fear of repercussions. Most of the things I say here I would say in real life. Instead, the internet provides me a way to be entirely myself while controlling what people know about me.

I like my privacy. I always have. I have never used my real name online (except with my Dom) and I never will. But having layers upon layers of pseudonyms is starting to get a bit odd too. I have a normal screen name that I love and identify with. When I'm online, I think of it as my "real" name. It's the one I use, but it's registered under a false name.

But I have other names too. I usually use them for different moods or different sets of friends or whatever. The name I use on this blog alludes to my real name, but even that can't be traced back to the real me. Not by legal means, anyway.

I wonder what it is about anonymity that makes me so comfortable. Especially when I'm not doing anything anonymously that I wouldn't do with someone watching.