Wednesday 23 June, 2004
Offical announcement
Just a quick comment on an earlier post and comment I removed.
Quite a few of our readers know both kolibri and I by our real names. I don’t know about kolibri (she can talk for herself), but I at least write under anonymity for a good reason.
Here I have the freedom to write about whatever I like, without necessarily being connected to my work all the time. You might have noticed a very rarely mention the products I’ve done by name. Companies I work for are very paranoid about their forthcoming products, so I take great care not to name any names if I do talk about my work -I can get into a lot of trouble over this.
I also wanted to make sure Dragon/kolibri does not get swamped by people seeking info on the games I work/worked on. I really enjoy writing for the sake of writing, without having to worry about putting on a public face all the time for hordes of games fans.
It is probably my own fault for not stressing this earlier, but if you want to quote me by my real name and refer to this site and my work at the same time, please ask me.
I know this may sound self-important and a bit pompous, but please respect my wishes in this matter. It is but a small thing, and means a lot to me.
Now resuming normal service.
Posted by Dragon at 23 June 10:30, 2004Congrats on completing the project We Shall Not Name Here, anyways. The policy of not bringing up work-related stuff with names is completely understandable, and I tend to follow it myself. Work is work, and private writing is private writing.
# 2 - Dragon (on June 23, 2004 11:29 AM):
Thanks! I'd like to think I'm not too narrow-minded guy (and I hate most kinds of censorship), but I stand to lose a lot, including my job and credit on my title if I am seen as a loose cannon. Thus no names involved. It is hard to write a blog and not mention work since I spend so much time there, and besides I'd hate to limit my subject matter.
# 3 - Henri (on June 23, 2004 12:55 PM):
Believe me, I know excactly what you talk about. For me, the price of writing with my own name is that I can't write about all the things I would like to - lately many of them work-related.
I've been struggling about writing about a couple of quite publicly availabe technologies and innovations my company is involved with, but in the end decided against, since there is a remote possibility of hurting my employer's interests.
So, I write with my own name, but have decided not to even mention my employer. Even though it's sometimes hard to separate the different aspects of you life, you are well within your rights to do so, and I hope people can respect your decicion.
# 4 - Janne (on June 23, 2004 02:23 PM):
I'm wrestling with the same problems. I sometimes do touch areas of interest that also are intertwingled with my work. If it happens, I ask my boss to okay such blog entries. So far, I've had no problems.
Some people have linked to me in the context of my employer, but I guess that is inevitable, considering that we share the same interests. Still, I'm not googlable as an employee of my company, so it's okay.
# 5 - Janne (on June 23, 2004 02:24 PM):
(And BTW, to keep terms correct, you are pseudonymous, not anonymous :)
# 6 - Dragon (on June 23, 2004 02:31 PM):
:) My problem really is that my publisher's subcontractor PR company has automated 24-h media alert programs scouring the net for each and every grain of info on the game I'm working on. Even every single mention on forums is read and reported on. Trust me, I know, I get the reports. :P
Thing is, I didn't mention the game, myself or the company by name. I kinda have to trust my friends in this.
# 7 - Gareth Lewin (on June 23, 2004 04:51 PM):
Sorry, I didn't realise it was a problem, I've edited the post, I'm sorry, I really didn't see any harm in it.
# 8 - Dragon (on June 23, 2004 05:19 PM):
Gone and forgotten. I should have spelled it out. I was just so excited.
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