this is indeed a valuable part of this listserv, this vertically horizontal exchange: I would have it any other way. i have always read this resource, have used it a few times, but have always very much appreciated the community from afar. i hope there are many others like me and i doff the chapeau to those. when i have used my credentials, as i am now, it has been a conscious attempt to establish context with those who cleave to credentials-mind. while i don't ascribe to that, i acknowledge it to be a part of the context of this area of interest. from henceforth, i will remove my credentials from any subsequent correspondence, which will be more frequent in the future with the announced of DMSC Governor's Challenge 4.0 Fall 2010. the dmsc govchal 4.0 uses this same kind of openness to extend resources for capacity building to non- and for-profit stakeholders. Winners from 3.0 can be accessed at www.tnsandbox.com we are working with the UGA listserv s work on Project Managment as platform for the Challenge 4.0, which moves from the follow guided system design: 1. research/production/publication 2. assessment 3. analytics 4. report/marketing/recruitment if interested, please contact me at below. All best in the best of all possible worlds, bob Robert R. Bradley Director of Technology Integration Communication and Information Technologies Tennessee State University 3500 John Merritt Parkway Nashville, TN 37209 cell: 615.579.7446 fax: 615.963.1371 rbradley@tnstate.edu Think. Work. Serve. www.tnsandbox.com ________________________________________ From: air-l-bounces@listserv.aoir.org [air-l-bounces@listserv.aoir.org] On Behalf Of Alex Halavais [alex@halavais.net] Sent: Tuesday, August 18, 2009 9:53 AM To: air-l@aoir.org Subject: Re: [Air-L] Credentials I am sympathetic to the idea that we should be "named" in our posting to AIR-L. In fact, it's part of the expectations of the list: http://aoir.org/?page_id=3 . And for those who wish to self-identify ("Hello, I'm Alex, and I have a doctorate..."), I see no harm in that. I choose not to for a few reasons. First, I'm not sure precisely what the credential means in my own case, let alone others' cases. Surely, not all Ph.D. granting institutions are of similar stature--should we also be saying where we graduated from, and in what field? Do Sociology Ph.D.s hold more sway than humble Communication Ph.D.s? What were our field exams, and how did we do? Does the fact that I hold no high school degree diminish my credibility? I'm reminded of Bernays on Letterman ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i6hH3roMe4w ). My hope is that I can be convincing enough without those three letters. Second, I consider all of you--approaching 2,000--colleagues. I was lucky enough to be considered the same by some of the eminent members of this list before I completed my doctorate, and so I want to do the same for those who are starting out in their own studies. For me, the use of titles in this context creates an unnecessary social distance. Again, to each their own, and if you choose to put your affiliations and credentials in your .sig, more power to you. But I wouldn't want it to become an expectation. Alex Halavais Person of Interest, Man About Town, Perpetual Student, Neophyte Baker, and Sometime Bamboo Fancier _______________________________________________ The Air-L@listserv.aoir.org mailing list is provided by the Association of Internet Researchers http://aoir.org Subscribe, change options or unsubscribe at: http://listserv.aoir.org/listinfo.cgi/air-l-aoir.org Join the Association of Internet Researchers: http://www.aoir.org/