stemelbow wrote:When I googled it I didn't get the two posts you're talking about.
Since our google searches are tailored to us, that should be expected.
stemelbow wrote:Anyway, aside from that I question whether two instances of DCP objecting to being called an anti-semite (or are we doubting it ever happened?) is really that big of deal, as you wish it were? What do you think? Does it really suggest DCP loves the negative attention.
Yes. Most of my internet activity is done under my real name, my adress, phone number, where I go to school, pictures, are all easily available. I go through no trouble to hide my identity, I simply don’t care.
So naturally, there are plenty of people on the web who say big, mean, nasty, and untrue things about me. For example, on this
blog, within hundreds of comments, here is a selection aimed at me:
You have poor communication skills, but still feel the urge to tell others how they should be communicating (Dunning-Kruger effect).
You are unclear and seem unable to make a point instead linking us to verbiage and asking us to find "Waldo" in the morass.
You come across as smarmy, pedantic, arrogant, and dishonest and completely unaware that you come across this way.
You assert your opinions as though you believe they are facts.
You're whining and repetitious and don't really bring anything to the discussion.
Patrick, “F” off. You've made your point. Just one thing though. Why in hell should I care what you think? Idiot. Go offer your unasked for advice to someone who cares.
Just a small section of loving comments I’ve garnered in just a few minutes of typing, all forever linked to my real name. My little blog which gets almost no traffic still gets me angry e-mails, and I’m just a nobody.
Amazingly enough, I don’t care, because I mean what I say and I want people to know who I am when I say it. Any person who is even a little bit of a public figure draws untrue criticism as well as accurate criticism , you get praise and you get condemnation, it’s all part of the game.
Dan plays that game, and since he his far more well known than I am, he’ll draw both kind of criticisms in proportion. MsJack deals with this, John Dehlin deals with this, John Larsen deals with this, anyone who has a public project deals with this.
On top of all this, I have more to lose than Dan does. His employment at BYU is secure, unless he beat some student, he’ll never lose his job or retirement. Me? Every grad school that seriously considers me is going to google me, and they are going to find all the nasty things said about me. I’m not worried about that having an effect on me, because I doubt any serious institution is going to give much credit to anonymous attacks. The opinions of other scholars in Dan’s field are not going to be based on things on message boards or bloodspots, but by the quality of his work.
Some how, some 28 year old undergrad who authors a blog less than a handful of people actually read, was able to come to the conclusion that it’s safe to ignore the haters. An actual scholar who is old enough to be my father still hasn’t found this out yet? Really?
I get left with two choices, either Dan is wildly naïve for his age, or he relishes the thought of being a target. I’m leaning towards the latter.