Colin on Corporate Tone

i think it feels corporate not intentionally, but because it was written with corporate funders in mind - less of a goal and more of a by-product. while we definitely need to put it in language that is resonant to get the funding, it should definitely not mean compromising or misrepresenting what we will do. the hope is to get all of your help to tweek it and get things right.

i've been thinking of this is as a sort of base layer into which we can insert specific issues/ examples/descriptions/language on why/how anonymity or related issues matter, how to think about them, etc., and briefly mention some of the works we'd undertake within this project. it could mention warming effects, for instance, propose the design of framework for analysis of different approaches to identity, or writing a popular article arguing that it's the basis of emerging democracies.

our views don't need to be consistent and we shouldn't represent them as such - what we are going to do is explore, flesh out our collective understanding (and disagreements), and give the means for others to understand it as well. perhaps what would make this more comfortable and straightforward is if this document did more to acknowledge the diversity of views - seeking to actually leverage that - not for the purpose of having readers choose one perspective, but gaining an understanding of the different perspectives, identifying points of contention/divergence, and creating analytical tools (and other paths) for delving into the assumptions/values/ implications of different technology and policy decisions related to anonymity.

with respect to the function of the doc, it is primarily fundraising, but should also serve as a broad description of what we want to do. there are no precise deliverables for it, and although we don't want to mislead the donors, it's an academic endeavor not a consulting project, so we do what we think is important/effective to explore the subject. as long as we manage those expectations (best done by clearly communicating what we want to do, albeit persuasively), this should be a great project - a wonderful complement to identity metasystems, a chance for you all to pursue the slice that is most interesting to you, and an opportunity to raise awareness of these issues.

does that make sense? do you feel like you can weigh in better? all of you, please re-orient me if i am getting it wrong/explaining it poorly!

thanks,

c