I wish people were more public

Privacy, Surveillance, and Risk

• Many commenters say they used to be more public but retreated as online surveillance, data permanence, and searchability grew.
• Fear centers on old, once-ordinary statements being resurfaced under new norms and used to harass, “cancel,” or damage careers.
• Some emphasize that the web’s permanence plus unpredictable future taboos makes public sharing feel irrationally risky.

Anonymity, Identity, and Accountability

• Several argue you can “be public” under a pseudonym; earlier internet cultures thrived this way.
• Others respond that long-lived pseudonyms are easily de-anonymized via leaks and breadcrumbs.
• There’s debate over using real names: some say it forces self-censorship and improves discourse; others counter that real-name policies don’t stop abuse and are dangerous under oppressive regimes.
• Calls for “accountability” raise hard questions: who decides what’s wrong, and how to prevent systems from being weaponized (e.g., SWATting, employer harassment)?

Benefits of Being Public

• Supporters of openness value learning in public, sharing technical and personal experiences, and making “honeypots for nerds” that attract like-minded people.
• Publishing even small projects or notes is seen as a way to sharpen thinking, get feedback, and build authentic connections.
• Some view public writing as a social good and historical resource, and consciously document their lives for future readers or AI models.

Harassment, Mobs, and Shifting Norms

• Multiple people report direct threats, employer contact, or dogpiling for public posts.
• They note asymmetry: a single obsessed person with little to lose can do disproportionate harm.
• Political and cultural pendulum swings mean positions that were mainstream can later become grounds for serious social or professional punishment.

History, AI, and Data Ownership

• One thread laments that future historians will struggle to reconstruct lives from fragmented, ephemeral or private digital traces.
• Others push back that today’s openness mainly enriches platforms, AI companies, and surveillance systems that can later be turned against individuals.
• Some propose alternative architectures: self-hosted personal data stores, local AI models, and explicit opt-in sharing to make being public safer and more voluntary.

Nostalgia and Alternatives

• There is nostalgia for the 1990s/early-2000s web: small personal sites, forums, and less corporate control.
• Several see today’s internet as dominated by spam, influencers, and centralized platforms, making genuine “public living” feel more like a liability than a joy.