The IT Skeptic has dropped anonymity: identity revealed

Submitted by skeptic on Thu, 2007-08-16 19:00
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Yup. It is time to drop the veil of anonymity. While it was a good idea at the start of this blog it is becoming a constraint.

My name is Rob England and I live in Pukerua Bay, New Zealand. You can find out more about me here, and you can read a full article on the reasoning behind this move on ITSMWatch

I'll continue to write as the IT Skeptic. But I will now challenge those who use anonymity as a screen for unwarranted personal attacks. And I'll stand behind my remarks on this blog.

Published in The Skeptical Informer, August 2007, Volume 1, No. 7


Comments

Submitted by Lite Headed on Fri, 2007-09-07 16:16.

Sponge Bob

There are times in life for growing up. It was a shock to learn that Santa Claus did not exist, even worse to lean the same of the Easter bunny and the tooth fairy. It was as bad to find out that the Wizard of Oz was just a little man in a big case but to be told that the IT Skeptic and the IT Swami are just a mere mortal living in breezy Pukerua Bay just about takes the biscuit!! Surely the spiritual words of the Swami and the total understanding of ITIL cannot come from anyone of this earth as I know it to be true, no one of this earth truly understands ITIL. Don’t anyone dare tell me that Sponge Bob is just a cartoon character!!

Submitted by kengon on Fri, 2007-08-17 19:15.

I like the moniker...

FWIW, I think that your use of the "IT Skeptic" was a great idea and very timely.

I also think that it is very telling that you felt you *had* to do that to be able to speak freely... or is that just my interpretation of things?? Also interested in how this alternate identity started to be limiting...

BTW, I put your identity together a while back... and no, I'm not claiming to be some magical private investigator or something. Anyone who was willing to do a little digging (which you helped with in the construction of your site) could have done the same.

All the best,
Ken "kengon" Gonzalez

Submitted by skeptic on Fri, 2007-08-17 20:42.

a whois query on the URL points to me

Ken's referring to the fact that a whois query on the URL points to me. In the past, my official response to that was that "I [Rob England] can confirm that I am the webmaster of the IT Skeptic" :-D

Likewise a link to Two Hills appeared in the footer of this site quite some time ago. There is another anonymous site that gives it away in this manner.

So I never set out to make it really secret so much as to be able to avoid official confirmation. When New Zealand ports were declared nuclear free, the USA wanted to still bring their warships here but "neither confirm nor deny" they were carrying nukes. I tried the same trick.

As to why i did it, there's quite a bit on that in the article. Back then I really didn't understand the power dynamics that well, and there was more perceived control of local chapters from international, and the local executive are of course friends - all of which added up to an unwilligness to 'make a scene'

Submitted by kengon on Sun, 2007-08-19 23:14.

What sealed the deal...

Skep,

Indeed the technical things helped get me there, but your writing style was very easy to recognize (a fingerprint of sorts, eh?)!!

kengon

Submitted by skeptic on Mon, 2007-08-20 07:36.

I'm pleased you saw my other

I'm pleased you saw my other articles :-)

Submitted by Visitor (not verified) on Fri, 2007-08-17 15:21.

Well done

Good luck dude, I hope that revealing your secret identity works out well. You've built up a lot of traffic on this site, it will be interesting to see if it translates into opportunities for you.

Submitted by skeptic on Fri, 2007-08-17 20:34.

my ambitions are not in developing myself as a brand

Thanks. Now that all is revealed, folk can see that my ambitions are not in developing myself as a brand. My basic principle is that my income should not be linked to my personal hours. So the IT Skeptic will continue as an entity. I'm hoping this move won't change things much.

Submitted by avallesalas on Thu, 2007-08-16 21:37.

Didn't expect to be the first to add a comment here!

Surely this is going to be one of your most read posts in the blog!
Rob, it has been really hard for me to keep your secret, so thanks for leaving me free from this responsability.

Regards and welcome!
Antonio

Submitted by Charles T. Betz on Fri, 2007-08-17 02:24.

Congrats

Welcome! I decided early on that standing behind my true name was the only way to do business, although occasionally I go by the alias of "alphasong" when creating IDs. I hope that others on this site will follow suit.

Charles T. Betz
http://www.erp4it.com

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