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One guy willing to attach their name to their mobbing doesn't disprove the almost tautological idea that fewer people would participate in such mobbing if they

One guy willing to attach their name to their mobbing doesn't disprove the almost tautological idea that fewer people would participate in such mobbing if they were all forced to do so with their real identity. That's because right now both that wish to be anonymous and those that don't get to participate, whereas such rules would exclude the former group. Even the event you mention probably depended on many being able to participate without risk, since one guy alone doesn't make for a very convincing 'mob'. There are arguments for anonymity online, and I tend to agree that they outweigh the problems. I think it'd be strategically better to focus on these than try to attack the rather intuitive logic at the core of such calls for ending anonymity.

toyg 8y ago
> fewer people would participate in such mobbing if they were all forced to do so with their real identity. I disagree. Mobbing existed before anonymity; in fact, it was very much the norm -- the concept of "honor" is often tied to public displays of condemnation for the "dishonorable". Publicity makes it harder for people to disagree with what is perceived as the opinion of the majority, as unpalatable and uncivilized as it might be. This is why political votes are secret, among others; or why the Gospels explicitly warn against public displays of faith. Every group of people will have its "dishonorable" enemies, and will always be keen to publicly shame them. Forcing people to attach their public identities to online activity will do nothing to dissuade people who see such actions as a badge of honor, but it will chill the display of dissent from the status quo.
- threeseed 8y ago
  Not sure this is true though. Mobs existed before because there were so many people that you were effectively an anonymous member of it. Similar to behaviour in protests today. However removing anonymity today would be difference since everyone could see your name and could get you fired, killed etc. Hence the OP is right that you would see less mobs.
  - toyg 8y ago
    No, the mass dimension is a modern phenomenon. "Mobs" in the past were 20 villagers doing things like burning a witch at the stakes. Everyone knew everyone else, and nobody would speak out for the witch precisely because their identity and reputation would have suffered from it. Removing anonymity will just reduce the possibility to express a dissenting opinion. This is why authoritarian systems the world over have always loved ID cards and the likes.

toyg 8y ago

> fewer people would participate in such mobbing if they were all forced to do so with their real identity. I disagree. Mobbing existed before anonymity; in fact, it was very much the norm -- the concept of "honor" is often tied to public displays of condemnation for the "dishonorable". Publicity makes it harder for people to disagree with what is perceived as the opinion of the majority, as unpalatable and uncivilized as it might be. This is why political votes are secret, among others; or why the Gospels explicitly warn against public displays of faith. Every group of people will have its "dishonorable" enemies, and will always be keen to publicly shame them. Forcing people to attach their public identities to online activity will do nothing to dissuade people who see such actions as a badge of honor, but it will chill the display of dissent from the status quo.

threeseed 8y ago
Not sure this is true though. Mobs existed before because there were so many people that you were effectively an anonymous member of it. Similar to behaviour in protests today. However removing anonymity today would be difference since everyone could see your name and could get you fired, killed etc. Hence the OP is right that you would see less mobs.
- toyg 8y ago
  No, the mass dimension is a modern phenomenon. "Mobs" in the past were 20 villagers doing things like burning a witch at the stakes. Everyone knew everyone else, and nobody would speak out for the witch precisely because their identity and reputation would have suffered from it. Removing anonymity will just reduce the possibility to express a dissenting opinion. This is why authoritarian systems the world over have always loved ID cards and the likes.