As the humorous article points out, many of us choose anonymity not because we're criminals, but to hide simple embarrassments or to show either positive or negative support for things that matter to us, but for which we might get "flamed." I call this blog "John's Omniverse" because the name John is ubiquitous (hell, unidentified prostitution users and toilets are both called John, that's how prevalent the name is) and I don't have my real name or anything else associated with it. This small layer of anonymity allows me to post political, religious, and social commentary in a way that gives me plausible deniability should I need it. Do I think I'm truly anonymous? Of course not. There are many clues to who I am. Blogger and Google both have access to my data, and "know" who I am. But to the casual reader, I could be the guy next door, or someone on the other side of the planet.
Most sites have you sign in with your real name and create your ID. Many sites you are granted permission to use after making a purchase from the site owner, so they have your credit card name on file. All sites have the means to monitor the IP address you use to enter the site. So, while the sites have access to data that can be used to identify you, they do not adequately police the blogs, boards, or what-have-you that they host, and don't warn or stop trollers from trolling. While I think that the RealID solution presented in the Cracked article is one way to go, shouldn't the real first step be enforcing the rules in the first place?
In both of the Super Hero MMORPGs that I play, every time you want to play the game, but before you can actually enter it, you have to accept the game's EULA (End User Licensing Agreement). Both EULAs clearly state that you cannot use names and/or likenesses of owned or copyrighted characters. Yet I cannot move around any zone in either game without seeing an Iron Man, Captain America, Hulk, Wolverine, Rogue, Batman, Superman, or another licensed/owned/copyrighted character "clone." Matter of fact, after each of the big comic book movies is released, for the next 2-4 weeks the games are filled with clone after clone of those characters in the movie. These same people who accepted the EULA, and then broke the rules they just accepted, get all pissy when someone inevitably reports them to the GMs and their character gets "generic-ed." They come crying to the forum boards with woe-is-me stories about it when they argue with the GMs and get a 1-3 day ban from playing. I have no sympathy-- they broke the rules and they got caught, deal with it.
America literally has thousands of gun laws in every state and federally. There is quite literally no situation you can think of that involves ownership rights, purchasing, resale, and/or using guns that there isn't a law already in existence to cover. Yet people want more gun laws. The problem with all those existing gun laws and any new ones people insist on having is:
- Criminals don't follow the rules.
- The rules are hard to enforce.
- There aren't enough government employees (i.e., cops, feds, et al) to enforce the existing laws 100%.
Anonymity does allow certain people to feel free to do as they please, and anonymity is the haven for those who wish to perform criminal activities. Some will stop their bad behavior if they have to use their real name and/or address. But many won't stop because they simply do not fear retribution. If those who moderate these sites do so quickly, efficiently, and to the fullest extent, many internet trolls will be found, banned, and will lose the right to post their hate speech. But, just as with game GMs looking for clones and law enforcement officers looking for illegal guns, there are far too few moderators to adequately handle the rules/laws already in place.
There are some advantages to a RealID program, however. If you have your actual name attached to anything you say online, people will choose not to say as much online for fear of reprisals. As my mother once said, "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all."
Good "fair & balanced" perspective on the topic. In my recent experience, I can make references to people and events without using any names and be held to account for what I write, but a person who uses my name and makes false accusations gets to walk away clear from any consequences. That's NOT the way it's supposed to be, but it is the way it is.
ReplyDeleteHence the need for the new "image cleaning" software services that look for these kinds of writings attached to a person's name so they can be neutralized. Sorry state of affairs.
Your post left me thinking about something I experienced recently in Moscow with the Police. I wonder if perhaps somehow there is anonymity in numbers for them and that is how corruption/bribes continue to flourish. They all look the same. They all act like drones. The average person doesn't dare do anything - even eye contact - to communicate with the police there for fear of having costly dealings. The only police officer who acted halfway human was a fellow who was posted to the same place every day and, of course, saw the same people most every day. He was familiar to them and they to him so the veil of anonymity afforded to most of the poorly behaving and corrupt police seemed to not be present despite his very close proximity to the Kremlin as a Kremlin traffic officer (the most corrupt kind!). He was friendly, even smiled, and said hello.
ReplyDeleteBack to your specific post... The only issue I have with forcing RealID is one of personal safety and security. For some people to participate online safely it is absolutely imperative that their true identity be kept private. I do agree though that anonymity can breed bad behaviour in many instances.