4 ms·

> Remember the backlash when Eric Schmidt was pushing for identity verification for Google+. This is the flip side of that coin; we can't have it both ways. No

> Remember the backlash when Eric Schmidt was pushing for identity verification for Google+. This is the flip side of that coin; we can't have it both ways. No, that was a separate problem: Google+, and later YouTube, both pushed for having to always use a verified identity *without* the option to be anonymous, pseudonymous, or to otherwise assume a fictional identity - especially in venues where people would have many legitimate reasons to not use their real-identity that aren't nefarious, criminal or misleading at all: anything from teenagers with abusive parents, forums like Erowid; Google has enough furries and otaku in their own ranks who'd be opposed to this policy anyway - and there is genuine democratic value in being able to speak anonymously - I'm surprised it isn't an enumerated constitutional right in more places, really. With Facebook/Instagram/Twitter's Verified-identity-costs-money feature the problem is that it seems the onus is on the individual to stump-up to avoid having their identity hijacked or misrepresented by someone else. What the Internet clearly needs is the good-parts-of-both: no-one should be forced to use their single real-life identity on the Internet, but also that no-one should be allowed to hijack another real-life identity - and that, ideally, no-one should have to pay to have to protect their own real-life identity from hijacking or misrepresentation either. These are not mutually-exclusive or otherwise incompatible goals - and paying for identity verification is not unethical in itself either.

LoganDark 4y ago
> Google has enough furries and otaku in their own ranks who'd be opposed to this policy anyway Yeah, I would be absolutely devastated if I were required to link a "real life" identity, especially since I do not identify with that. Species dysphoria makes me uncomfortable. I need spaces to express myself. Not the body I happen to be trapped in. (Basically agreeing with you and confirming that these people totally exist.)
- DaiPlusPlus 4y ago
  After seeing your Twitter account I can see that you're being sincere, but your reply to my post really does come across as edgelord - just letting you know.
  - LoganDark 4y ago
    Sorry about that, expression of "ugh yeah I'd hate that" tends to overlap significantly with sarcasm. Being autistic also hurts the tone a little. I was being sincere, yeah. (I... usually forget to put emotion into my text here. I'm always self-conscious about my comments getting reported somehow if I act too playful or anything. I try to be more serious and informative.)
    - Jcowell 4y ago
      I think the cases where you italicized might be better bolded? For me personally, italicization could emphasize certain words but sarcasm-ized others depending on the context.
- KennyBlanken 4y ago
  > Species dysphoria makes me uncomfortable I'm pretty sure thinking you're not "supposed to be" human is a mental illness and you should be seeking treatment for it, not leaning into it.
  - danShumway 4y ago
    This kind of unnecessary combatism doesn't belong on HN in my opinion. It is (by some very limited measures, at least) a somewhat diverse community, and that works better when people aren't at each other's throats.
    - recuter 4y ago
      [flagged]
  - LoganDark 4y ago
    > I'm pretty sure thinking you're not "supposed to be" human is a mental illness and you should be seeking treatment for it, not leaning into it. That's not what I meant by "dysphoria". I use "dysphoria" to mean that I feel a mismatch between my inner identity and outer body. It doesn't mean that I think the body is somehow wrong or incorrect, but rather that I'd prefer to be inside a different one and I am uncomfortable with this one. I never think "I was supposed to be born as something else", because that isn't true. I was born exactly how I was supposed to be. Autism and ADHD are merely genetic differences. But one can grow to dislike their own existence and desire a different one, and that's not necessarily a mental illness in itself. I don't have delusions of transformation or rebirth or religion. I just feel like I identify as something else. It's similar to how some people feel gender dysphoria or gender euphoria. HRT and SRS exist for gender/sex transitions, but unfortunately transhumanism or "species transition" isn't really possible. So I have to tough it out and try to make myself as comfortable as possible despite that. This includes expressing myself online the way I want to instead of a way mandated by the laws of "reality". Having to identify online using the body would indeed be very dysphoria-inducing because I don't identify that way and I don't want to be seen that way online. Going through ADHD treatment is helping me significantly (and with other mental illnesses too), because some of my discomfort probably stems from executive dysfunction (i.e. the body not listening to me when I tell it to do certain things), but I will never not be otherkin; take that as you will.

LoganDark 4y ago

> Google has enough furries and otaku in their own ranks who'd be opposed to this policy anyway Yeah, I would be absolutely devastated if I were required to link a "real life" identity, especially since I do not identify with that. Species dysphoria makes me uncomfortable. I need spaces to express myself. Not the body I happen to be trapped in. (Basically agreeing with you and confirming that these people totally exist.)

DaiPlusPlus 4y ago
After seeing your Twitter account I can see that you're being sincere, but your reply to my post really does come across as edgelord - just letting you know.
- LoganDark 4y ago
  Sorry about that, expression of "ugh yeah I'd hate that" tends to overlap significantly with sarcasm. Being autistic also hurts the tone a little. I was being sincere, yeah. (I... usually forget to put emotion into my text here. I'm always self-conscious about my comments getting reported somehow if I act too playful or anything. I try to be more serious and informative.)
  - Jcowell 4y ago
    I think the cases where you italicized might be better bolded? For me personally, italicization could emphasize certain words but sarcasm-ized others depending on the context.
KennyBlanken 4y ago
> Species dysphoria makes me uncomfortable I'm pretty sure thinking you're not "supposed to be" human is a mental illness and you should be seeking treatment for it, not leaning into it.
- danShumway 4y ago
  This kind of unnecessary combatism doesn't belong on HN in my opinion. It is (by some very limited measures, at least) a somewhat diverse community, and that works better when people aren't at each other's throats.
  - recuter 4y ago
    [flagged]
- LoganDark 4y ago
  > I'm pretty sure thinking you're not "supposed to be" human is a mental illness and you should be seeking treatment for it, not leaning into it. That's not what I meant by "dysphoria". I use "dysphoria" to mean that I feel a mismatch between my inner identity and outer body. It doesn't mean that I think the body is somehow wrong or incorrect, but rather that I'd prefer to be inside a different one and I am uncomfortable with this one. I never think "I was supposed to be born as something else", because that isn't true. I was born exactly how I was supposed to be. Autism and ADHD are merely genetic differences. But one can grow to dislike their own existence and desire a different one, and that's not necessarily a mental illness in itself. I don't have delusions of transformation or rebirth or religion. I just feel like I identify as something else. It's similar to how some people feel gender dysphoria or gender euphoria. HRT and SRS exist for gender/sex transitions, but unfortunately transhumanism or "species transition" isn't really possible. So I have to tough it out and try to make myself as comfortable as possible despite that. This includes expressing myself online the way I want to instead of a way mandated by the laws of "reality". Having to identify online using the body would indeed be very dysphoria-inducing because I don't identify that way and I don't want to be seen that way online. Going through ADHD treatment is helping me significantly (and with other mental illnesses too), because some of my discomfort probably stems from executive dysfunction (i.e. the body not listening to me when I tell it to do certain things), but I will never not be otherkin; take that as you will.