The issue, however, is not whether I know you. The issue is this:
There is an imbalance of power in a communication between an identified and unidentified participant. It's like a conversation in which you can send a letter right to my mailbox and know that it will be received (if not necessarily read), but I have to respond via personals in the paper which anyone -- but not necessarily my intended recipient -- can read, and I can't verify that you'll receive my responses, let alone that you care anymore. You are inherently less invested in the exchange than I am.
Or maybe it's like conversing with someone from inside a locked room with a one-way mirror.
No, knowing a little bit of information about you won't alleviate that problem. But it would make me feel better.
no subject
There is an imbalance of power in a communication between an identified and unidentified participant. It's like a conversation in which you can send a letter right to my mailbox and know that it will be received (if not necessarily read), but I have to respond via personals in the paper which anyone -- but not necessarily my intended recipient -- can read, and I can't verify that you'll receive my responses, let alone that you care anymore. You are inherently less invested in the exchange than I am.
Or maybe it's like conversing with someone from inside a locked room with a one-way mirror.
No, knowing a little bit of information about you won't alleviate that problem. But it would make me feel better.