Klarinet Archive - Posting 000067.txt from 2003/07

From: Erik Tkal <bbtkal@-----.net>
Subj: RE: [kl] Anons
Date: Wed, 2 Jul 2003 09:08:16 -0400

At 08:46 AM 7/2/2003 -0400, Bill wrote:

>One of the important factors used in evaluating an idea is consideration of the SOURCE of the idea. Anonymity makes evaluation MORE difficult. And if one does not have the moxie to back up his unpopular opinion, maybe he should keep it to himself?

Hmm, on what grounds do you base this statement? If we are evaluating a statement or position, would it make a difference who has put said idea forth? I contend not, as that can often lead the observer to make judgments that are not based on the statement, but on the originator. For example, the company I used to work for imposed a restrictions on resumes to *not* include a picture, and on passing around evaluation copies removed the name, because people tend to make evaluations based on the source, and knowing whether the person is male or female, or black, Asian or whatever, can lead to involuntary discrimination.

Any idea, if stated properly, should be able to stand and be evaluated solely on its own merits.

Having said that, let's look at evaluations. If several people are evaluating or commenting on something specific and one wishes to judge a position *compared* to others, *then* one might wish to know the source in order to take competency or domain knowledge into account.

Some may not see such a distinction, but often the two modes of analysis have very different purposes.

Erik Tkal

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