After MetroPulse's front page article today reporting on the local Internet blogging and blabbing community some people are wondering who is #9? I wonder why do people care?

Bbeanster ask the question ,"So, #9, what did you do to this bunch that makes them slobberous with rage at the very mention of your name, errr, number?"

The short answer is I stood up to a small clique of people and they decided to run me off. I asked questions that somehow upset them. They tried to use the standard blog ploys to frustrate me but I ignored them. The more they pushed the firmer I dug in. My disregard for the "pecking order" is the main problem.

There is one positive result. My opponents have created curiosity about what I write about.

Leslie Wylie of the MetroPulse ask me six questions via email for the story on KnoxBlab. Here are my answers.

[Leslie Wylie] How did you get involved with Knox-blab? Were you involved with any local forums prior to the 'blab (k2k, Metro-blab, SKB, etc.)?

[#9] I am somewhat new to blogging. I was an observer on South Knox Bubba, SayUncle, and Instapundit before choosing the name #9 last March in 2005. I starting blogging on local issues on South Knox Bubba and became a regular poster there on the downtown cinema, the Market Square redevelopment project, and other local Knoxville issues. Some of the friends I met there challenge me to this day.

After South Knox Bubba closed I joined k2k and Knoxblab and continued to blog on local Knoxville and Knox County issues. I also became a correspondent at SayUncle for Knoxville Politics.

[Leslie Wylie] People become involved in online forums for various reasons: to participate in public discourse, to be entertained, to be informed, to vent. What's the appeal of the 'blab for you? And about how often do you post?

[#9] My reason for blogging is to participate in public debate and try to ask questions that are not being asked in local media. It is common for me to post the same piece at SayUncle, Knoxblab, and k2k. I also learn a great deal in the local blogs that I would not know from reading the local newspapers or watching local television news. Case in point, the John R. Wright conceptual report on the Candy Factory code and repair issues was available only on Knoxblab. No other source made this document public.

[Leslie Wylie] You occasionally get criticized by other blab-users for maintaining your anonymity, especially in conjunction with posting responses that some consider controversial or inflammatory. What's their beef, and what's your reasoning for maintaining that anonymity? Do many people in your offline life know that you're the infamous #9?

[#9] Presently no one knows that I am the infamous #9. On Knoxblab I am the blogger that people love to hate. I am also the most read blogger on Knoxblab. I hope there is not a correlation between the two but it is what it is.

I am seen quite differently at SayUncle and also at k2k. Each forum carries with it a different personality. I post the same piece on these three forums and receive completely different responses. I like each of these forums for different reasons. k2k is the old guard and the original Knoxville forum for issues. It is fallen greatly from its heyday and is in need of a renaissance. SayUncle is a pro second amendment blog site that pays special attention to eminent domain and property rights. I have high regard for the SayUncle blog. Knoxblab is really not a blog it is a blab where anyone can post a topic. Of the three it is the least moderated so it is a little like the Wild West of local forums.

The issue of my anonymity is not much different than those pseudonymous bloggers that came before me. I have to respect the people I work with and it would be unfair to expose them to the fallout of my blogging. I believe the issue is what matters and the words stand for themselves. As I wrote on a Nashville blog, “You earn any respect you are due in the blogging world. Everyone starts at square one.” Who you are is not as important as what you write. Unfortunately my anonymity has driven some people to distraction. It isn’t going to change. I will remain pseudonymous.

[Leslie Wylie] Any especially memorable/heated/long-winded threads you've observed or been involved with?

[#9] At South Knox Bubba I was involved with the longest and probably most heated thread there on the downtown cinema. On SayUncle I wrote a thread about Nashville blogger Sharon Cobb and her efforts to get a Nashville blogger fired from his job working for the State of Tennessee because she disagreed with him. Unfortunately this became dramatic as Ms. Cobb threatened to sue both SayUncle and myself. On Knoxblab my thread about the KCDC meeting where only two KCDC commissioners and the KCDC vice president attended the public meeting for the Candy Factory is the longest thread in local blog experience with over 365 comments (410 comments as of today).

[Leslie Wylie] How does your online persona compare with your face-to-face persona?

[#9] If I were to be outed it would be a great disappointment to everyone. I doubt anyone would envision me as I really am. The running joke at Knoxblab is that I live in my Mom’s basement. I take that as a compliment. Any time you receive that response you have thoroughly frustrated your opponent. I have a lot of friends that have no idea what an Internet blog is. They would be completely confused as to why I invest my time doing this.

[Leslie Wylie] Not to bust up your enigma or anything, but is there any information you would like people to know about you[Leslie Wylie]occupation, knoxvillian or non-knoxvillian, etc.?

[#9] I am a life long Knoxvillian and live in Knox County. My greatest frustration is that less than twenty percent of my fellow citizens take the opportunity to vote. If I could accomplish one thing it would be to increase voter turnout and citizen participation in local government.

[Leslie Wylie] Anything else you'd like to add or observations you've made about 'blab culture would be greatly appreciated. Thanks so much for your time, and looking forward to your responses.

[#9] Stand your ground and expect people to challenge you. Expect that you will at some point be insulted when you stand your ground. If you make a mistake admit it. If you write something insensitive apologize, correct it and learn from it. Try to remember that these are good people and they believe they are right just as you believe you are right. Look for the common ground but don’t accept abuse. Stand up for what you believe. Even when they write that you live in your Mom’s basement.