>Yes there are downsides to this idea but I'd like people to have real conversations around those rather than throw the baby out with the bath water. It's hard

>Yes there are downsides to this idea but I'd like people to have real conversations around those rather than throw the baby out with the bath water. It's hard to have a serious conversation when you present a couple of upsides but completely understate/not mention the downsides. Eliminating anonymity comes with real danger. What about whistleblowers and marginalized groups? The increased likelihood of targeted harassment, stalking, and chilling effects on free speech? The increase in surveillance? The reduction in content creation and legitimate criticism of companies/products/etc? The power imbalance granted to whoever validates identities? pjc50 brings up some other great points, which got me thinking even more: Removing anonymity creates a greater incentive to steal identities, has a slew of logistical issues (who/how are IDs verified, what IDs are accepted, what are the enforcement mechanisms and who enforces them, etc.), creates issues with shared accounts and corporate/brand accounts, would require cooperation across every country with internet access (good luck!) otherwise it doesn't really work, and probably a million other things if I keep thinking about it.