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Remove all perceived anonymity. Of course that sense of anonymity is what makes the experience richer and safer. I'd rather just live with the trolls. Is it th

Remove all perceived anonymity. Of course that sense of anonymity is what makes the experience richer and safer. I'd rather just live with the trolls. Is it that bad?

DanBC 11y ago
People are happy to make idiotic comments under their real names linked to their real identity. See the Sikh who advertised Facebook ("What's this raghead terrorist doing on my wall?") or comments under any news article (especially Daily Fucking Mail ("Kill the immigrants")).
- buckbova 11y ago
  They exist and are ultimately in the minority. Anonymous apps tend to bring out the worst in people, especially with groups like teenagers and cyberbullying.
dominotw 11y ago
Nice try NSA. Seems kind of insane that people are willing to dox themselves on the internet.
- dguaraglia 11y ago
  If you read the OP comment carefully, you'll notice he actually is saying the opposite: he'd rather live with the trolls, than have to give up anonymity.
mdip 11y ago
I wish this were a silver bullet, and of course, nothing would completely be a silver bullet, but even in forums/comments that require the use of a "Real Name" (to the extent it can truly be enforced), it's clear that people are OK with trolling under their actual name. The perception of anonymity is important, yes, but the illusion that they're not attacking a "real person" seems to be enough to let people become detached enough to be examples of terrible human beings. And losing anonymity also reduces someone's willingness to talk openly (and civilly) about a topic that they may otherwise be unwilling to discuss (sexuality, medical issues, etc). Heck, I won't even talk directly about my political opinion after reading articles about how people with strong political views are willing to reject a candidate for hiring entirely because of them not aligning politically (not really a problem for me since I generally hate politics). This also lowers the number of available voices and it might reduce the ratio as it relates to trolls. In a sensitive topic do we lose more trolls this way or do we lose more civil conversation? I'm not sure. Elimination of anonymity helps, yes, but isn't appropriate for every kind of discussion and must be combined with other methods.

Remove all perceived anonymity. Of course that sense of anonymity is what makes the experience richer and safer. I'd rather just live with the trolls. Is it that bad?

DanBC 11y ago

People are happy to make idiotic comments under their real names linked to their real identity. See the Sikh who advertised Facebook ("What's this raghead terrorist doing on my wall?") or comments under any news article (especially Daily Fucking Mail ("Kill the immigrants")).

buckbova 11y ago
They exist and are ultimately in the minority. Anonymous apps tend to bring out the worst in people, especially with groups like teenagers and cyberbullying.

dominotw 11y ago

Nice try NSA. Seems kind of insane that people are willing to dox themselves on the internet.

dguaraglia 11y ago
If you read the OP comment carefully, you'll notice he actually is saying the opposite: he'd rather live with the trolls, than have to give up anonymity.

mdip 11y ago

I wish this were a silver bullet, and of course, nothing would completely be a silver bullet, but even in forums/comments that require the use of a "Real Name" (to the extent it can truly be enforced), it's clear that people are OK with trolling under their actual name. The perception of anonymity is important, yes, but the illusion that they're not attacking a "real person" seems to be enough to let people become detached enough to be examples of terrible human beings. And losing anonymity also reduces someone's willingness to talk openly (and civilly) about a topic that they may otherwise be unwilling to discuss (sexuality, medical issues, etc). Heck, I won't even talk directly about my political opinion after reading articles about how people with strong political views are willing to reject a candidate for hiring entirely because of them not aligning politically (not really a problem for me since I generally hate politics). This also lowers the number of available voices and it might reduce the ratio as it relates to trolls. In a sensitive topic do we lose more trolls this way or do we lose more civil conversation? I'm not sure. Elimination of anonymity helps, yes, but isn't appropriate for every kind of discussion and must be combined with other methods.