"...those of you using pseudonyms or equivalents should be aware that there are multiple clues to your
identity and location available in the messages you post to LBO."
Very true.
Your on list handle might be "Iniquitous Shoes of Glitter" but if, in the course of participating in a thread about delicious Madagascarian apples you write "as a wind surfing engineer living, with sun tinted hair, in Antananarivo I have to speak up about these delicious apples!" you've provided a few helpful hints to anyone interested in knowing more about you.
So how could you scrub your posts of personal details?
One way, inspired by a game I play with a smart kid I know, is to pretend you're a sentient bot.
How would a thinking bot - let's call it Wintermute in honor of William Gibson - deal with some of the contentious issues which dominate list discussion?
Let's play.
On Iran
This unit has evaluated the arguments of the unit called "Yoshie". This unit has determined those arguments to be flawed.
On the invasion and occupation of Iraq:
Prior to invasion, this unit estimated a 75 percent chance of strong resistance to a prolonged American presence. This projection was based upon an analysis of historic precedent and a consideration of known human responses to violent stimuli.
On abortion:
This unit acknowledges the issue's moral complexity from a wetware POV; however, this unit's belief sub processor is fixed in a state of acceptance for female units' prerogative to determine child bearing status.
On sexual matters:
This unit acknowledges the ubiquity and variety of human sexual need but this unit's anonymity/privacy protocol routine prohibits further comment.
On birthday cake:
Birthday cake? Identify the location of this birthday cake!
...
With your posts bereft of easily extractable details, would be identity hunters must rely solely on server logs and old fashioned sleuthing.
This unit's post count stands at +2
.d.