Just curious why so few people use their real names.

[alarimer]

167. Anonymity is a double-edged sword.

It can protect people whose might suffer if trouble makers want to cause trouble. Stalkers and harassers are a definite issue there. And some people, because of their jobs might have to be more careful. And nowadays employers usually search the profiles of prospective employees, so your opinions or activities might come back to haunt you. And it is necessary to protect dissidents in countries that are less than free.

BUT at the same time, people can hide behind anonymity to harass and intimidate others as well. People just behave abysmally on the internet, especially when they can be anonymous. I mean, have you read any YouTube comments? :shudder:

So some have called for anonymity to be banned, on the theory that if people know who you are, you are more likely to behave appropriately. I'm not really sure that is true.

I have never really attempted to be totally anonymous, figuring that I am such a small fish that no one really cares what I do. My user names are the same pretty much anywhere and are usually some version of my actual name. Also, I'd forget anything else.