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.
...calls to end anonymity online by forcing people to reveal their real identities might not have the effects people expect'
Seems like walking around in a bad neighborhood screaming "OH WOW MY WALLET IS SO FULL OF MONEY RIGHT NOW!"
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@mia My wife and I were talking about this yesterday. We both use our real names and she said she tends to hold back in community sites (Facebook) on some of the issues that are hot in her work area (and there’s one that has a particularly unpleasant ideological split currently) as she’s a self-employed contractor who relies on others for work. Getting on the wrong side of certain influential people could harm her work prospects, even though she is very knowledgeable and highly regarded in it. But, other areas seem to be fine for her.
I’ve always used my real name, especially in community sites, as they are often small and we generally know who each other is — doesn’t seem much point in a nom de plume. I wouldn’t be nasty on them (not my style) but I might hold back commenting in a snappy way if I can run into the person IRL!
I appreciate the situation can be very different for people who attract the wrong kind of nasty attention from bigots. Forcing them to use their real names could be very dangerous and they deserve all the protection and freedom they can get to participate in public life.