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Are 'Real Names' Policies an Abuse of Power?

Posted by Soulskill on from the not-every-comment-deserves-attribution dept.

telekon writes "Microsoft researcher Danah Boyd argues in this article that 'The people who most heavily rely on pseudonyms in online spaces are those who are most marginalized by systems of power.' This comes in the wake of criticism aimed at Facebook and Google for their stance on anonymity and pseudonymity. A related article from the Atlantic discusses how revolutionary the real name requirement really is."

2 of 318 comments (clear)

  1. Easy solution by OverlordQ · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Dont use Facebook or Google+.

    Plenty of other methods of communication.

    --
    Your hair look like poop, Bob! - Wanker.
  2. Simple by Improv · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Google is not obligated to join you on whatever your crusade is, no matter how worthy. There are real plusses and minuses to anonymity, and it is reasonable for a social network operator to either allow or disallow pseudonymity.

    --
    For every problem, there is at least one solution that is simple, neat, and wrong.