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RemoveIdentity
MeatballWiki | RecentChanges | Random Page | Indices | CategoriesA form of reworking (see WhatIsReworking), in which a SerialIdentity (or more than one) are removed from a piece of text.
When to apply RemoveIdentity:
- Upon leaving a website, you may wish to exercise your RightToVanish.
- Where a site has a policy on appropriate usernames, use RemoveIdentity on inappropriate usernames.
- Where a DramaticIdentity is felt to be unhelpful, you may wish to remove uses of it (compare discussion on AnonymousDonor).
- Where knowledge of the identities involved is not particularly useful in understanding the text. ReduceNoise?.
- As a precursor and aid to further reworking, particularly the creation of DocumentMode.
- To avoid problems with ContextSwizzling caused by other reworking on the page.
- To aid ForgiveAndForget.
- To practice DissuadeReputation, particularly on a CommunityExile.
- By taking personalities out of the text, we hope to avoid the appearance of a clique.
- To emphasise TheCollective over TheIndividual.
When not to apply RemoveIdentity:
- If there's no good reason to do so.
- If the benefit of removing an instance of some identity is outweighed by the damage removal will cause. LimitDamage.
- If the authorship of some piece of text is important to properly understand it. Instead, you may want to mark it up as a quote rather than a comment.
- In a complex conversation with many people (ThreadMess), removing identities makes it harder to follow the ebb and flow of the debate.
- In BrainstormMode. In this case, you may want to ReworkLater. See EnablingCreativity.
- If the community dislikes anonymous contributions.
- To practice RewardReputation
- To emphasise TheIndividual over TheCollective.
Examples
Life sucks. --Alice
Why do you think that, Alice? --Bob
It just does. --Alice
- Preserving conversation flow with markup:
Life sucks.
Why do you think that?
It just does.
- Preserving conversation flow with anon sigs:
Life sucks. (anon)
Why do you think that? (anon2)
It just does. (anon)
- Also applying ReplaceQuestionWithAnswer:
Life sucks. It just does.
Anti-examples
- Applying RemoveComment? without considering conversation flow:
Why do you think that, Alice? --Bob
- Drawing too much attention to the reworking with ReworkingNotes?:
Life sucks. (name removed: see RemoveIdentity)
Why do you think that, Alice? --Bob
It just does. (name removed: see RemoveIdentity)
- Another way of making the same mistake:
One person suggested that "Life sucks".
The above text is PrimarilyPublicDomain
See also
WikiMindWipe, WikiMindWipeDiscussion, RightToVanish