The Oddities of Internet Anonymity
By Jonathan Weber, 5-21-08
In the wake of our New West local event on social networking, I've been thinking a lot about the dynamics of interacting on the Internet. In my column for the London Times Online this week, I wrote about the strange way that anonymity works (or doesn't) on the Internet. As a glance at NewWest.Net discussion threads shows, anonymity can be liberating, but not always in a good way. Asking people to use their real names in online conversation seems almost radical. But we're always looking for ways to encourage good conversations, so let us know if you have any thoughts. [End of article]I have been reading a lot about this issue of using your real name or a pseudonym. As a woman, I have used a net name that protects my address and phone number until I know someone well enough to be sure they are not going to become dangerous or obsessive. I understand the concern that phony names allow some people to be nasty or threatening and not fear they will damage their reputation or have accountability. It is a problem for which I don't have a good answer, but it looks like the government is thinking about solving it for us all by forcing real IDs.
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