Today’s links The real problem with anonymity: The banal anonymity of evil. Hey look at this: Delights to delectate. This day in history: 2004, 2009, 2014, 2019, 2023 Upcoming appearances: Where to find me. Recent appearances: Podcasts, events and more. Latest books: You keep readin’ em, I’ll keep writin’ ’em. Upcoming books: Like I said, I’ll keep writin’ ’em. Colophon: All the rest. The real problem with anonymity (permalink) According to “the greater internet fuckwad theory,” the ills of the internet can be traced to anonymity: Normal Person + Anonymity + Audience = Total Fuckwad https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/greater-internet-fuckwad-theory This isn’t merely wrong, it’s dangerously wrong. The idea that forcing people to identify themselves online will improve discourse is demonstrably untrue. Facebook famously adopted its “real names” policy because Mark Zuckerberg claimed to believe that “Having two identities for yourself is an example of a lack of integrity”: https://www.zephoria.org/thoughts/archives/2010/05/14/facebook-and-radical-transparency-a-rant.html In service to this claimed belief, Zuckerberg kicked off the “nym wars,” turning himself into the sole arbiter of what each person’s true name was, with predictably tragicomic consequences: https://www.kalzumeus.com/2010/06/17/falsehoods-programmers-believe-about-names/ Facebook is, famously, one of the internet’s most polluted reservoirs of toxic interpersonal conduct. That’s not despite the fact that people have to use their “real” names to participate there, but because of it. After all, the people who are most vulnerable to bullying and harassment are the ones who choose pseudonyms or anonymity so that they can speak freely. Forcing people to use their “real names” means that the most powerful bullies speak…Pluralistic: The real problem with anonymity (04 Mar 2024)