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> the Facebook requirement with its real-name policy could go some ways to curtailing that kind of dialogue. This was the theory was for a while, but empirical

> the Facebook requirement with its real-name policy could go some ways to curtailing that kind of dialogue. This was the theory was for a while, but empirical evidence has refuted it. People are just are bad or worse when posting under their real names, and it's not just an anecdotal feeling anymore: https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20160729/23305535110/study-trolls-are-even-worse-when-using-real-names.shtml https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20160729/23305535110/study...

NoGravitas 10y ago
Thank you for the link providing non-anecdotal evidence that a real-name policy does nothing to discourage aggressive trolls. I run a Facebook page with a moderate number of likes (~75K), and the fact that the trolling was, if anything, louder and nastier than in a comparably sized community on reddit, was one of the first things I learned.
foob 10y ago
It's interesting to see that real name policies can actually make trolls behave more aggressively. On the other side of the spectrum, I anecdotally find that they actually prevent me from posting constructive things. I frequently refrain from leaving reviews for restaurants and stores on Google because I don't want them associated with my real name. It's not that I would otherwise be leaving low quality or bitter reviews, I'm just not particularly interested in anybody who knows my name having access to information about where I shop, what I eat, etc (even though I would be happy to share this information anonymously to help other people make informed decisions). I feel similarly about commenting on news articles, blogs, and apps that I use. It wouldn't surprise me if this was a significant factor in how real name policies affect overall comment quality.
st3v3r 10y ago
I imagine it's because those trolls still have no consequences to their actions. If people would make more public the comments of those who are the most toxic (death/rape/other violence threats, etc), by, say, sending those comments to the person's mother/grandmother, their boss, etc, and they actually had consequences for those actions, then it might taper off.* * Of course, this kind of action can have some far reaching consequences, and is quite ripe for abuse. I don't know if there is a way to fix that. And myself, not being the target of such abuse online, I'm not really that invested in trying it.

NoGravitas 10y ago

Thank you for the link providing non-anecdotal evidence that a real-name policy does nothing to discourage aggressive trolls. I run a Facebook page with a moderate number of likes (~75K), and the fact that the trolling was, if anything, louder and nastier than in a comparably sized community on reddit, was one of the first things I learned.

foob 10y ago

It's interesting to see that real name policies can actually make trolls behave more aggressively. On the other side of the spectrum, I anecdotally find that they actually prevent me from posting constructive things. I frequently refrain from leaving reviews for restaurants and stores on Google because I don't want them associated with my real name. It's not that I would otherwise be leaving low quality or bitter reviews, I'm just not particularly interested in anybody who knows my name having access to information about where I shop, what I eat, etc (even though I would be happy to share this information anonymously to help other people make informed decisions). I feel similarly about commenting on news articles, blogs, and apps that I use. It wouldn't surprise me if this was a significant factor in how real name policies affect overall comment quality.

st3v3r 10y ago

I imagine it's because those trolls still have no consequences to their actions. If people would make more public the comments of those who are the most toxic (death/rape/other violence threats, etc), by, say, sending those comments to the person's mother/grandmother, their boss, etc, and they actually had consequences for those actions, then it might taper off.* * Of course, this kind of action can have some far reaching consequences, and is quite ripe for abuse. I don't know if there is a way to fix that. And myself, not being the target of such abuse online, I'm not really that invested in trying it.