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I don't understand why people make anything of "real names" policies. They just want the users to have real looking names. They don't actually have any way to f

I don't understand why people make anything of "real names" policies. They just want the users to have real looking names. They don't actually have any way to force real names. So it's a non-issue. There's no oppressed person in a police state signing up for Facebook that reads a EULA and concludes "well, Facebook said I have to reveal my true identity, I guess that's the way it is."

anseljh 11y ago
Did you read the post?
publicfig 11y ago
Because many people have had accounts disabled or names changed back for trying to change their name.
mjquinn 11y ago
They can and do enforce the real name policy. If they suspect your name isn't real (via algorithm or user reports) they will freeze your account until you send them scans of government ID confirming your name. I have a friend with an unusual name, and she's had to go through the process twice thanks to harassers flagging her.
- VLM 11y ago
  "thanks to harassers flagging her" This is a fairly significant and under discussed problem. Rush Limbaugh is probably safe from harassment... that dude commenting in some political group is not so immune. This creates an interesting chilling effect.
acabal 11y ago
Exactly! I have a similar policy at the community I operate. Members have to sign up with a real-sounding pen name. I'm very flexible on that too. All that means is you can't sign up with a pen name like "CRaZzE BlOgGeR". I don't care if your pen name is your real name or not--it just can't sound like a dumb made-up internet username. And yet people still email me daily, enraged that they can't sign up for a professional online community with the pen name of "BitterDoll SweetBear". This kind of policy goes a long way towards the perception of professionalism at any web site. You're probably not going to take a person named "Spazmo Jones" as seriously as you would "Amy Wong". It's a sort of broken window theory. (And yes, all of the examples above are pen names people actually tried to sign up with!)
- gknoy 11y ago
  > This kind of policy goes a long way towards the perception of professionalism at any web site. Does it, though? Looking at HN usernames, some are clearly names (mine, yours), and many are probably not (patio11, JupeterMoon, hackuser, on__3, to use some from the comments of a neighboring thread). I don't think this detracts at all from the professionalism of the discourse here, nor from the perception thereof. Similarly, I wouldn't weigh the professionalism of a hypothetical StackExchange user differently if their usernames were 'SparkleMermaid', 'ArmadilloRocketeer', or 'Iheartpython' -- I notice the content of their writing before I notice their name. Heck, the sandwich-themed name of your company shouldn't make one pre-judge the communities you've built, or the perception the work you've done to build them. Am I that much in the minority that I don't care if your username is your initials + favorite 3 digit number, your real name, or a reference to your favorite Star Trek episide? Is this because I grew up in a time when handles were either assigned-by-name or completely made-up, depending on what system you had joined? Maybe it's the influence of having been a lurker on Slashdot and HN, where clever nicknames were commonplace, yet one's choice of nickname nearly never was the basis for judging value of contributions.
- detaro 11y ago
  If that was what Facebook did that would be fine (I think it's silly, but it doesn't have any real downsides, so I don't care), but it is not.

anseljh 11y ago

Did you read the post?

publicfig 11y ago

Because many people have had accounts disabled or names changed back for trying to change their name.

mjquinn 11y ago

They can and do enforce the real name policy. If they suspect your name isn't real (via algorithm or user reports) they will freeze your account until you send them scans of government ID confirming your name. I have a friend with an unusual name, and she's had to go through the process twice thanks to harassers flagging her.

VLM 11y ago
"thanks to harassers flagging her" This is a fairly significant and under discussed problem. Rush Limbaugh is probably safe from harassment... that dude commenting in some political group is not so immune. This creates an interesting chilling effect.

acabal 11y ago

Exactly! I have a similar policy at the community I operate. Members have to sign up with a real-sounding pen name. I'm very flexible on that too. All that means is you can't sign up with a pen name like "CRaZzE BlOgGeR". I don't care if your pen name is your real name or not--it just can't sound like a dumb made-up internet username. And yet people still email me daily, enraged that they can't sign up for a professional online community with the pen name of "BitterDoll SweetBear". This kind of policy goes a long way towards the perception of professionalism at any web site. You're probably not going to take a person named "Spazmo Jones" as seriously as you would "Amy Wong". It's a sort of broken window theory. (And yes, all of the examples above are pen names people actually tried to sign up with!)

gknoy 11y ago
> This kind of policy goes a long way towards the perception of professionalism at any web site. Does it, though? Looking at HN usernames, some are clearly names (mine, yours), and many are probably not (patio11, JupeterMoon, hackuser, on__3, to use some from the comments of a neighboring thread). I don't think this detracts at all from the professionalism of the discourse here, nor from the perception thereof. Similarly, I wouldn't weigh the professionalism of a hypothetical StackExchange user differently if their usernames were 'SparkleMermaid', 'ArmadilloRocketeer', or 'Iheartpython' -- I notice the content of their writing before I notice their name. Heck, the sandwich-themed name of your company shouldn't make one pre-judge the communities you've built, or the perception the work you've done to build them. Am I that much in the minority that I don't care if your username is your initials + favorite 3 digit number, your real name, or a reference to your favorite Star Trek episide? Is this because I grew up in a time when handles were either assigned-by-name or completely made-up, depending on what system you had joined? Maybe it's the influence of having been a lurker on Slashdot and HN, where clever nicknames were commonplace, yet one's choice of nickname nearly never was the basis for judging value of contributions.
detaro 11y ago
If that was what Facebook did that would be fine (I think it's silly, but it doesn't have any real downsides, so I don't care), but it is not.