intertwingly

Deepak Alur: So, O wise and famous (to be) anonymous blogger, do me and others a favor. Please forsake your anonymity.  Please tell us who the heck you are (on your blog). The world will be a better place.

What’s amusing, to me, is that apparently earlier revisions of this weblog entry contained the following text:

Anyway, while reading Tim’s blog, I found and followed an entry titled Sam Slams SAJAX. This took me me to http://www.intertwingly.net/blog.  Once there, I have no idea whose blog this is except for the name “Sam”

If you are looking at this page in a browser, do me a favor.  Look at the title bar on this window.  No, not where it says “intertwingly”, above that.  Above the address bar in the browser.  At the very top of the window.

Have you found my name yet?

If you really want to know who a person is, it will take some effort.

Now, suppose you wanted to find out more about this person.  Hmm, I wonder how you could do that?  Perhaps a search engine?  What information do you want?  My bio?  A picture?  How about directions, address, and phone number?

Now, tell me, does that really help you know who I am?

Deepak says Tim’s author page clearly communicates who he is.  Does it really?  Tell me, if you were to reduce Tim Bray to the one thing he is most known for, what would that word be?  Now look again at that Author page.

The truth is, Tim can’t be reduced to one word.  Or one paragraph.  Or one page.  You know him based on a collection of independent experiences that you have associated with that name and built up over time.

The same is true for me.