Gregory's ServerOnline anonymity: study found ‘stable pseudonyms’ created a more civil environment than real user names
'What matters, it seems, is not so much whether you are commenting anonymously, but whether you are invested in your persona and accountable for its behaviour in that particular forum. There seems to be value in enabling people to speak on forums without their comments being connected, via their real names, to other contexts.
...calls to end anonymity online by forcing people to reveal their real identities might not have the effects people expect'
Online anonymity: study found ‘stable pseudonyms’ created a more civil environment than real user names
'What matters, it seems, is not so much whether you are commenting anonymously, but whether you are invested in your persona and accountable for its behaviour in that particular forum. There seems to be value in enabling people to speak on forums without their comments being connected, via their real names, to other contexts.
@mia For "real" read "government authorized".
@mia Anyone who thinks anonymity will make anything friendlier should consider that a self-confessed sex offender (who also publicly admitted to wanting to fuck his own daughter) was rewarded with a presidency. The only people who would be silenced by being forced to use their real names are people from marginalised groups.
@mia the problem with that is global politics. And doxxing.
Having all your accounts connected increases the likelihood of your post history revealing enough for you to be doxxed.
Governments have been known to use Grindr profiles to find queer people after deciding to prosecute gayness again for example. Right now you can just scrub that account without it being connected to your main. This would make it harder to take these kinds of protective measures.