hmmm...this is interesting. I was thinking a lot about this sort of thing recently, mainly because after a year and a half, I finally put some actual pics of me up on my facebook/myspace pages....
As far as employers go, and RL vs. internet life....that is terrible to think they would do that. And it could probably be argued that it's discriminatory, of course, but how could you ever prove it....
I wonder if people on here are paranoid, or worried, that someone might "find out" they are on here because of the subject matter....or how they fear people might view them if they did find out.......probably so. But that seems like giving in to fear entirely too much, and letting "them" win.
I used to think that way...a bit at least...but dammit, when you're right, you're right. Which is to say that I stand behind my actions and words, because I know I'm right about this (this meaning bbm, bettermost, lgbt rights, etc). I think I'm also right about not letting fear dominate our lives.
Of course, I have no right to tell anyone else what to do, and that viewpoint above is a little naive when faced with day to day discrimination, internet predators/crazies, etc....another thing (that maybe takes a little away from what I said) is that I feel relatively "safe" in terms of my job - God willing, I will stay in the sweet bosom of academia forever...
I do think we should all be careful in terms of meeting people in real life after meeting them online. Because you never know a) if they are really who they say there are and b) if they are crazy! And perhaps also when it comes to personal pictures on here....but I dunno. So, to pic or not to pic? That is the question...
I forgot to say....I found this topic because my computer was loading bettermost so slowly that I thought maybe I could link to it quicker via Google. So, when I googled Bettermost, this thread was the 2nd result!!!