Archinect
anchor

Ever been busted due to Archinect?

citizen

A post on another thread triggered this question for me.

With all the often-revealing comments, complaints, accusations and rants regularly posted here about schools, professors, and employers for all to see... has anyone here ever been outed or suffered consequences?

Screen names offer anonymity---to a point.  But sometimes there's enough detail in a post to (mis)identify the poster.  Plus, of course, some folks use their real names.

Any Archinect casualties out there?

 
Feb 15, 13 10:32 am

"randy1", RIP.

An architect friend who occasionally posted here anonymously. I know that's not what you meant, but I thought I should share.

Feb 15, 13 10:55 am  · 
 · 
curtkram

sometimes i wonder if people i know read what i post but don't confront me.  hey guys, if you're reading this stop by and say 'hi' :)

of course i mean 'say hi' anonymously and on the internets

Feb 15, 13 11:09 am  · 
 · 
observant

Try checking out a site called "rate my professors dot com."  Students sound off about individual professors, and it's downright blunt.  This is tame by comparison.  As for schools, that's a topic everyone has in common, and people have definite opinions.  In a community college setting, for example, teachers tell students what the better schools are, or where they'd like to see them go.  With an employer, that's a different story.  If you speak of a 30 or a 300 person firm, that really means nothing, except to the poster.  I thought the idea of the site was to share information and give advice.  Notice that many of the threads under academia ask us for our opinions on schools, education, and test/license strategies.

From reading the title of this thread, I assumed it to mean for accessing Archinect while on the clock.

What I see here, for the most part, is some tension between people whose posting styles and opinions don't gel.  So what else is new?

Feb 15, 13 11:41 am  · 
 · 
Rusty!

Sometimes I wake up in cold sweat thinking 'do they know?'. But then I snap out of it. I'm fabulous, wear shoes I designed myself, employ an army of minions, and never really cared what anyone thinks. I'm Zaha!

Feb 15, 13 11:55 am  · 
 · 
Rusty!

err ignore the last word.

Feb 15, 13 11:55 am  · 
 · 

I think I would have to buy a new pair of pants if Rusty! was actually Zaha.

Feb 15, 13 11:56 am  · 
 · 
Sarah Hamilton

It would be funny, if Rusty was, though.  I'm going to continue the rumor...

Feb 15, 13 1:01 pm  · 
 · 
citizen

@ Observant:

I'm thinking of the occasional posts I've seen over time, along the lines of I've just been offered a job at XYZ, but I've heard the partners are all egomaniacal pricks, or that they abuse new staff.  Can anyone comment?

Admittedly this isn't the typical post, but I've seen enough in this vein over the years to poll the group.  (Of course, such a query about a new employer is perfectly valid, but possibly with dire consequences for the poster due to the inclusion of specific info.)

Feb 15, 13 1:41 pm  · 
 · 
observant

@ citizen:

I understand.  Thank you for the clarification.  I agree that such specificity would be in bad taste.  The only time I've come into contact with this kind of information is when a starchitect firm gets "written up" for  paying below market, or no wages, and this information somehow became available to the general public.

Feb 15, 13 1:49 pm  · 
 · 
rationalist

I did post one thing previously about a firm I'd worked at, and at the time it was under my (semi)anonymous username. Then there was some switchup with the way the comments/profiles worked, I had two accounts, etc. and somehow it wound up juggled so that it displayed under my real name. Everything I said was true, but it was a very, very blunt and angry way to put it. A person did email me once, asking for more info because she was considering working for that firm (which is how the results of the username swap situation came to my attention) and now I really wish I hadn't written that, or at very least that I'd posted more detail so that it could be objectively evaluated and not just look like bitterness.

Feb 15, 13 1:54 pm  · 
 · 
gruen
Life is easier if I accept that I pretty much regret everything I've ever done and will ever do. Then I can say whatever I want to with no further repercussions.
Feb 15, 13 1:58 pm  · 
 · 
Rusty!

gruen, I like your attitude kiddo. Come work for Zaha! Mama needs a new human ottoman. 

Feb 15, 13 2:06 pm  · 
 · 

Rusty is far too astute to be Zaha.

Feb 15, 13 2:12 pm  · 
 · 
observant

has anyone here ever been outed or suffered consequences?

Any Archinect casualties out there?

We know what "outed" means in Hollywood-speak.  What does it mean in Archinect speak?

Well, the last thing I would want is an architectural forum where rose-colored glasses were required.

Mar 4, 13 5:36 pm  · 
 · 

nothing in my professional life, but i was outed on archinect a couple of years ago (and changed my moniker to 'outed' to reflect the incident). at that point, it made more sense to just post as myself. i don't regret the decision at all.

Mar 4, 13 5:44 pm  · 
 · 

(i'll add as a post-script - i'm fine that people choose to have a screen alias. to each his/her own...)

Mar 4, 13 5:45 pm  · 
 · 
Wilma Buttfit

Still waiting for the day to get busted.  I know many people that read archinect, and am just waiting for one of them to recognize me. Shit, the whole reason I even started posting here was because I thought I recognized someone else and got interested in reading what they were writing. Turned out it wasn't them, but I stayed.

Mar 4, 13 5:49 pm  · 
 · 
curtkram

"outed" means someone made your real name/identity public even though you chose to post under an anonymous name.  for example, rusty was outed above.  he's actually zaha.

Mar 4, 13 5:51 pm  · 
 · 
observant

"outed" means someone made your real name/identity public even though you chose to post under an anonymous name.  for example, rusty was outed above.  he's actually zaha.

Got it.  But rusty to zaha hardly sounds like an "outing."  I have seen my alma mater represented on here, but I haven't seen anybody who has a recognizable shtick, nor anyone who has read my persona ... and it hasn't changed much over the years.  Ha.

Mar 4, 13 5:57 pm  · 
 · 
citizen

When I hear "outing," I always think of a picnic, or a barbecue, or a drive with the top down.  With a homosexual.

Mar 4, 13 8:22 pm  · 
 · 
observant

^

LOL.  I think of "Entertainment Tonight," which is trash and NOT watchable.

Mar 4, 13 8:26 pm  · 
 · 

Gregory I had forgotten that!! Some hyper-overly-adamant anti-development preservationist guy outed you, right? Yeah he was quickly banned, I wrote the Big Green Head and I'm sure others did too and asked them to remove the post that outed you.  That was before I even knew you! And it reminds me there was another similar incident of outing by someone who had not been a member long and got grumpy at a long-time member, I told Big Green Head about that too.

Mar 4, 13 8:26 pm  · 
 · 
observant

Is Big Green Head a handle?  The big cheese on here?

Mar 4, 13 8:30 pm  · 
 · 
drums please, Fab?

oz, methinks

Mar 4, 13 8:43 pm  · 
 · 
sameolddoctor

Rusty, how is Patrick Schumaker as a human ottoman? Is he very parametric?

Mar 4, 13 8:58 pm  · 
 · 
observant

Do some of these banned people they refer to come back under a different handle?  Is that what they meant when some of these posters "morphed" into another name?

Is this board mostly 20-something, and applying to school, in school, or recent entrants into the workforce?  It seems that way.

What's that adage or belief?  That most design professors, and many designers, are pretty much stuck in the "era" in which they graduated from school, and the prevalent design vocabulary.

Mar 4, 13 9:14 pm  · 
 · 

donna - indeed. i think we met because of that incident. yeah, the particular person was... a little overly zealous in his particular position....

 

but hey, all water under the bridge (and the library here is still standing...)

Mar 5, 13 9:26 pm  · 
 · 

observant - the general rule of thumb is: if you've been warned by BGH and still continue on, he's got ways to ban you that wouldn't (very easily) allow you just to switch names. although, i'm quite sure someone's done that. 

in my case, i was outed by name, in a spectacular fashion. i changed the name on my account (which i think is ok to do, generally). it was after that, and after talking to some long time people here offline, that i decided to just create a new account with my real name. this was way back in archinect 2.0 (before this iteration). 

Mar 5, 13 9:30 pm  · 
 · 
observant

Thanks, Gregory.

What was the "issue" that torqued the big cheese with respect to that poster, who either changed their screen name, or that dropped out?

Spectacular fashion?  I guess I missed some major fireworks.  Tacky, too.

How the hell does one message someone here?  It doesn't look like there is a message feature.

Mar 5, 13 10:33 pm  · 
 · 

I went back and forth on whether or not to post anonymously for my blog. Ultimately decided that I'd post as myself and keep everything civil and professional. If a potential employer didn't see that or respect it, I wouldn't want to work for that employer anyway. 

This is also the reason I decided against continuing my blog once I found work. Too many blog posts went unpublished while looking for work because I was worried about the repercussions. Figured I didn't want that on my shoulders when it could reflect poorly not only on me but on my employer as well.

Mar 6, 13 12:00 am  · 
 · 

brian - as someone who's read your blog (weren't we and nicole the only ones in the 'professional practice' section for a long time?), i'm glad you did choose to put your name out there. i think it's much easier to make a more direct connection to what's being said. and, yes, if your potential employer couldn't appreciate that, you probably didn't want to work for them. i'll also add, for whatever it's worth, i didn't see anything in your writing that would have reflected poorly on a firm. and i'd encourage you to keep writing - if it means being careful talking about the firm in particular, that's easy enough. but putting yourself out there isn't a bad thing at all. i'm still constantly amazed at how many people, when i meet them, tell me they've read one of my posts. people i'd figure would have absolutely zero interest. 

observant - you can message someone IF they have their account enabled. the blue names are the key - if it is, they (generally) can be reached. if not, then they can't. (or at least that's my understanding - i could be missing some serious nuance there).

oh, and, yes it was messy and spectacular. i can't speak for BGH, but will say there's a zero tolerance policy on outing people, as well as being remotely civil. generally, the forums are pretty wide open, but direct, unsubstantiated attacks are going to get you banned.

Mar 6, 13 3:47 pm  · 
 · 

Gregory, I completely agree that it is easier to connect with a name. I think a lot of what goes on in the forum would come up a few notches on the professionalism scale if more people would use their real names. Alternatively, I think the forum wouldn't be nearly as fun if everyone's comments was tied back to them.

As for putting myself out there, I am definitely less involved on archinect now compared to when I was looking for work and had more time. I still try to put myself out there and respond to posts and threads in a meaningful way, hopefully with a tone that will be appreciated by those who know me or will meet me on a professional level someday. I wish more people in my generation understood this about social media. It's a lot harder to wipe the slate clean when you make a dumb comment on facebook, twitter, etc. I think that there is a lot of professional potential in social sites like archinect or linked in but one still has to be careful. Maybe my generation does understand it, but they aren't as careful as they should be.

Mar 6, 13 10:24 pm  · 
 · 

Oh, and in addition to creating your profile (blue names), I believe you also have to enable the feature that allows users to contact you. It's under "Contact Form Settings" when editing your profile's contact info.

Mar 6, 13 10:26 pm  · 
 · 

Hi, I'm Joseph Wassell, and I'm an archiholic.

I don't think I commented much at all before including my name.  Granted I was probably too involved most of the time stalking the employment section to pay much attention to the forum until recently.  Maybe my recent attention will fade when my next job starts.

I agree entirely, Brian, and you're not alone on this generational thing.  I've known a few who have wiped their social media slate clean effectively, but I get the impression that certain areas in our field are more tightly knit, and even to have that option wouldn't be enough in many cases.  For example, I had an interview with someone who had heard about me from a professor I had four years earlier.  Turned out that he had the same professor and they stayed in touch.

I've had to hold my tongue a number of times, either about recent or current projects, or responding negatively to inflammatory posts.  The latter being much more difficult.  I enjoy the blend of anonymity and identifiable people here.  It's rather unique compared to the internet milieu.  Something I found refreshing in being identified (in comparison to some 100% anonymous boards) is that I didn't need to have several hundred comments before being acknowledged or taken seriously.  It could be solely based on the content of the posts, but I feel like I can put more stock in what someone says if their willing to associate those comments with their identity*. 

Mar 6, 13 11:26 pm  · 
 · 
observant

observant - you can message someone IF they have their account enabled. the blue names are the key - if it is, they (generally) can be reached. if not, then they can't. (or at least that's my understanding - i could be missing some serious nuance there).

I thought that's the way it worked.  Too bad, because it's some of the "non-blues" I would have liked to have e-mailed when something was relevant.  C'est la vie.  Thanks.

Mar 6, 13 11:40 pm  · 
 · 
observant

I think a lot of what goes on in the forum would come up a few notches on the professionalism scale if more people would use their real names. Alternatively, I think the forum wouldn't be nearly as fun if everyone's comments was tied back to them.

Disagree with the first and agree with the latter.  I made one hell of a negative "splash" on here with the first thread I authored, fetching some 200 contentious posts, but it is the way I feel about THAT issue.  Agree with the second item, that it wouldn't be as fun.

Thinking back to "Psych 101," we studied the concept of a "schema," or a series of attributes tied to a person or an event that essentially support a stereotype or a profile, IIR.  There are many "schemas" in architecture, and among architects.  Among many, not all, newly minted grads, it's a sort of idealistic, dutifully liberal, and invested in being cool sort of persona.  I come at architecture with a realistic, irreverent, and "f**k the 24/7 architect worn on the sleeve" attitude.  For me, architecture is somewhere between a job and a career, especially when you neither work, nor are paid, for a 40 hour week (LOL - for now...).  I've never gone to Europe with a sketchbook.  Screw that.  Where's the beach? I like being one of those people who could pass for 20 different occupations if sitting next to someone on a plane ride.

Mar 6, 13 11:54 pm  · 
 · 

Observant, if anything I see that thread with 200 contentious posts as making my point. I know I stayed out of the discussion because I post under my real name. If I'm not mistaken, the majority of those participating in the discussion did so under pseudonym. It was still a fun discussion to follow (for about the first page). Would it have been the same if people were posting under their real names? I doubt it. Obvious exceptions to this are those who did post as themselves. Would you go back and make the same statements knowing they could be tied to you professionally?

Mar 7, 13 2:43 am  · 
 · 

Block this user


Are you sure you want to block this user and hide all related comments throughout the site?

Archinect


This is your first comment on Archinect. Your comment will be visible once approved.

  • ×Search in: