I know what people in my former tech circles say about me because I stay silent while remaining on the mailing list. I have no need to defend myself, as the truth will assert itself anyhow. Being right doesn't matter, being righteous does, and I have had to learn the difference the hard and painful way.

The humbling part is that even if I am proven right, I have the exact same personal struggles as I did before, and they are of a righteous nature. I am still no better for being proven right, and in a way it's even more painful to be lauded for it while starkly facing my own demons and fallen ways.

I can say with confidence from personal experience that you really don't know what other people have had to go through, even if you think they do, and they are honest and transparent in public. The inevitable dissonance between the image and the experience is quite painful in way.

It would have been easier as an "anon", just not as effective. Better to be damned for being real.