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As an experiment, I'd love to see a forum which required all users to use their real identities, where identities for user accounts must be legally verified thr

As an experiment, I'd love to see a forum which required all users to use their real identities, where identities for user accounts must be legally verified through an accredited notary service, similar to E-Verify/I-9 verification. I'm curious how much less toxic behavior on a platform like that would be.

Evenjos 4y ago
I'm in a community like this, which is also very heavily moderated. It still has toxic elements because the people who run the platform think a certain way.
slightwinder 4y ago
So, like Facebook? Twitter? Or any other social network. Ok, they are not notary certified identities, but bit's pretty common and depending on the platform also demanded and enforced, with enough people following the demand. But I don't get the impression it made the platforms a better place. People only learned to better hide their tracks, or don't care about it.
- beebmam 4y ago
  What? Facebook/Twitter and others do not require Notary-verified identification.
  - slightwinder 4y ago
    Yes, as I wrote they don't require notary-verification, but they still have verifications and some demand usage of real names. Most platforms even have verified accounts for somewhat important people. My point is, a notary alone would change nothing. People already use their real identity, and they are still toxic. But, it of course would have an effect, for the simple reason that the expensive and long verification will filter out many casual users, so your user base is smaller and more dedicated from the beginning. But for this, you can also just open a commercial forum, maybe even with a fee for posting. That would probably have far more impact on the quality than any identity-check. I remember the Something Awful-Site seems to fare quite successful with that approach.
foodstances 4y ago
Nextdoor requires address verification and your real name on posts, and you are only talking to people within your block/neighborhood. There are still constant arguments and bad behavior on it. People are just not afraid to be assholes online or in person anymore...

Evenjos 4y ago

I'm in a community like this, which is also very heavily moderated. It still has toxic elements because the people who run the platform think a certain way.

slightwinder 4y ago

So, like Facebook? Twitter? Or any other social network. Ok, they are not notary certified identities, but bit's pretty common and depending on the platform also demanded and enforced, with enough people following the demand. But I don't get the impression it made the platforms a better place. People only learned to better hide their tracks, or don't care about it.

beebmam 4y ago
What? Facebook/Twitter and others do not require Notary-verified identification.
- slightwinder 4y ago
  Yes, as I wrote they don't require notary-verification, but they still have verifications and some demand usage of real names. Most platforms even have verified accounts for somewhat important people. My point is, a notary alone would change nothing. People already use their real identity, and they are still toxic. But, it of course would have an effect, for the simple reason that the expensive and long verification will filter out many casual users, so your user base is smaller and more dedicated from the beginning. But for this, you can also just open a commercial forum, maybe even with a fee for posting. That would probably have far more impact on the quality than any identity-check. I remember the Something Awful-Site seems to fare quite successful with that approach.

foodstances 4y ago

Nextdoor requires address verification and your real name on posts, and you are only talking to people within your block/neighborhood. There are still constant arguments and bad behavior on it. People are just not afraid to be assholes online or in person anymore...