3 ms·

Real name policies are terrible and misguided.

seattle_spring 9y ago
Maybe in the case of a dating site, but I disagree when it comes to Facebook. I see a lot of low quality comments, and they almost always come from people with a fake name, a fake profile picture, or both. Anonymity seems to bring out the worst in everyday people when it comes to discourse.
- draugadrotten 9y ago
  > Anonymity seems to bring out the worst in everyday people when it comes to discourse. While I agree that anonymity may allow for bad behaviour, it also allows for good behaviour and focusing on the message rather than the messenger. Our conversation here on HN is an example, where draugadrotten and seattle_spring doesn't really reveal which one of us has two PhDs and a couple of million dollars in the bank. Our comments are judged based on what we write, not who we are. When it comes to sex, politics and religion, people are sometimes harassed or killed for what they say under their real name, so anonymity is very important. Transgenders have been mentioned as an example on OkC. And on dating sites, relationships benefit from being judged on the content of the message, rather than the cover photo and cv. There are many women on LinkedIn who thinks otherwise and court men with a good job, but OkC was always a good alternative. With a real name policy, this is no more.
  - CaptSpify 9y ago
    This is what I miss about the old internet. The one I grew up with, when everyone was (rightly) told to keep their personal info off the internet. I didn't have to spend much time worrying who I was talking to, and how it could be tied back to me. Conversations felt more honest, because I could focus on the merits of the conversation, rather than based on the "credentials" of who was having the conversation.
    - seattle_spring 9y ago
      The "old internet" I remember is still alive and well when I play older video games. I don't think less than 75% of the messages on their online platforms are anything other than hateful slurs.
      - JoshMnem 9y ago
        Good behavior in communities is a result of moderation and leadership, not pseudonyms vs. real names.
- JoshMnem 9y ago
  That's a myth. I run online communities, and it isn't pseudonyms that make people well-behaved or not. People behave terribly on Facebook, even (especially?) when using real names. Go hang out in some Facebook groups on controversial topics. It's really terrible over there. I've even felt like leaving my own Facebook groups there, because the behavior can be so bad. I've seen one user who was very well behaved on my own site under a pseudonym for years, but when a discussion moved to a Facebook group, I had to block him for behavior problems. On my own sites, I encourage people to use pseudonyms and even to create extra accounts if they want to post something anonymously.
  - seattle_spring 9y ago
    > That's a myth. Color me unconvinced.

Maybe in the case of a dating site, but I disagree when it comes to Facebook. I see a lot of low quality comments, and they almost always come from people with a fake name, a fake profile picture, or both. Anonymity seems to bring out the worst in everyday people when it comes to discourse.

draugadrotten 9y ago
> Anonymity seems to bring out the worst in everyday people when it comes to discourse. While I agree that anonymity may allow for bad behaviour, it also allows for good behaviour and focusing on the message rather than the messenger. Our conversation here on HN is an example, where draugadrotten and seattle_spring doesn't really reveal which one of us has two PhDs and a couple of million dollars in the bank. Our comments are judged based on what we write, not who we are. When it comes to sex, politics and religion, people are sometimes harassed or killed for what they say under their real name, so anonymity is very important. Transgenders have been mentioned as an example on OkC. And on dating sites, relationships benefit from being judged on the content of the message, rather than the cover photo and cv. There are many women on LinkedIn who thinks otherwise and court men with a good job, but OkC was always a good alternative. With a real name policy, this is no more.
- CaptSpify 9y ago
  This is what I miss about the old internet. The one I grew up with, when everyone was (rightly) told to keep their personal info off the internet. I didn't have to spend much time worrying who I was talking to, and how it could be tied back to me. Conversations felt more honest, because I could focus on the merits of the conversation, rather than based on the "credentials" of who was having the conversation.
  - seattle_spring 9y ago
    The "old internet" I remember is still alive and well when I play older video games. I don't think less than 75% of the messages on their online platforms are anything other than hateful slurs.
    - JoshMnem 9y ago
      Good behavior in communities is a result of moderation and leadership, not pseudonyms vs. real names.
JoshMnem 9y ago
That's a myth. I run online communities, and it isn't pseudonyms that make people well-behaved or not. People behave terribly on Facebook, even (especially?) when using real names. Go hang out in some Facebook groups on controversial topics. It's really terrible over there. I've even felt like leaving my own Facebook groups there, because the behavior can be so bad. I've seen one user who was very well behaved on my own site under a pseudonym for years, but when a discussion moved to a Facebook group, I had to block him for behavior problems. On my own sites, I encourage people to use pseudonyms and even to create extra accounts if they want to post something anonymously.
- seattle_spring 9y ago
  > That's a myth. Color me unconvinced.