Current Events — HabitableZone

Current Events » in reply to re: ~sigh~

How do I know you are the same person?
Mary Anne — (archived)

The blog in question derives a great deal of its authority from the identity and experiences of the blogger. Like a reporter on assignment, a lot of the value of the reporting comes from the eye-witness nature of the experiences of the individual who speaks or writes.

A traceable, knowable individual provides a measure of confidence in the reporting. How does anyone except those who know you personally know that this is not just another case of identity theft? I deal with people with multiple paperwork, in my small town library, maybe 15 or 20 times a year. And this is just so they can get out of a $40.00 book replacement fee. In cities, the fraud rate is much higher.

If the blog were just based on your opinion of other people's opinions and of compiled news sources, that would be one thing. Citation and commentary would be the only things that mattered. But the authority in this case also comes from personal reporting on personal activities. Without some form of verifiable identity, that authority is suspect.

I can say I am Princess Margaret, and some people will believe me, especially if I have nothing else to do but read everything ever printed about the British royals and shore up my writing with that. Because I know this, and because part of my business is to mediate between information seekers and information suppliers, I have to be cautious and apply some rules. I also accept applications for US passports as part of my job. If I were to accept the kind of documentation available on the blog in question for one of those, do you know how fast it would be sent back? "Because I say so" is not enough.

If you don't care, that's fine. But if you don't, why are you here?

Regards--
Mary Anne

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