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by luckylion 2154 days ago
> some ways they can do that is to name the subject

That is "to give the subject a name", not "to reveal the name of the subject". It's usually "Maria [name changed] is the youngest of three daughters, her parents ...". That gives the subject a name, but there's no need for it to be the full name, or even the actual first name, because the story tend to be about the circumstances or what happened to the subject, not their name.
1 comments
adamsea 2154 days ago
Scott Alexander is a public figure. He himself shares his first name, middle name, profession, and city.

Is that true of “Maria” in your example?

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luckylion 2154 days ago
"Public figure" doesn't really go well with "wants to remain pseudonymous". He writes a blog as a personal hobby, he's not a celebrity or politician.

And yes, that's pretty often true about subjects of articles that do not get doxxed, because "Maria, NYC, Nurse" is enough to give you an idea about the person but far away from being enough for individual identification. And, of course, it doesn't matter for the story, just as the name doesn't matter for any profile about SSC.

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adamsea 2151 days ago
He is arguably a minor celebrity because of the number of followers he has and level of influence.

Come on - if the New York Times is writing about your blog then you're obviously, anonymous or not, a "public figure", though perhaps a minor one.

Also until we know what the article is - it's actual contents - how can we know if the name is relevant or not?

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