Requiring posters to reveal REAL names!

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[Post New]07/07/2010 18:49
Anonymous
http://fwd4.me/W73

Eeek. I'll be amazed if this can stick for WoW. I don't think real names would work here.
[Post New]07/07/2010 20:01
Anonymous
This board would die.
[Post New]07/08/2010 11:23
Anonymous
I don't know of any board that requires real names. They would all die.

I would love to see more registered users here, though. It's frustrating to not know how many people are in a given thread, to not be able to retain anything about the history of a particular poster, and everyone is so quick to yell "TROLL!"... well... requiring registration to vote would make that pretty simple

I'm not saying you have to use your real name but SOME identifier would be helpful.
[Post New]07/08/2010 12:57
Anonymous
That's not going to stick. Another board I post on was talking about this and someone posted a link to WoW players reaction. One young man, thought this would be a good thing, so much so that he posted his very common real name.

Within 20 minutes another poster found his address, his phone number, his facebook account, his parents info, his place of employment and its number. He then procedeed to call him at his job, just to say, Hey, hows it going.

That said, I've played several MMO's, and every single one of their forums tied your in game account to your forum account so that if you are a problem on the forums you can be punished by restricting or removing access to the game. Why Blizzard doesn't do this, if indeed they don't already I couldnt say. I also don't understand why a company that makes so much money can't afford to hire enough moderators to adequately police their forums.
[Post New]07/08/2010 13:14
Anonymous
For a social, non-game related forum like this I find those that require registration to be much more fun to read. It's easier to keep up witht the conversation when you know who is who, and people can't deny their posts or claim posts they didn't write.

I would never use my real name as a forum handle, though. That's dumb.
[Post New]07/08/2010 13:18
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:For a social, non-game related forum like this I find those that require registration to be much more fun to read. It's easier to keep up witht the conversation when you know who is who, and people can't deny their posts or claim posts they didn't write.

I would never use my real name as a forum handle, though. That's dumb.


I've posted some items on certain topics where if you read the "body of work" could figure out schools, locations, etc. Using "6 degrees of separation" some could be identifiable.
[Post New]07/08/2010 13:58
SAM2
Member Offline
Anonymous wrote:I've posted some items on certain topics where if you read the "body of work" could figure out schools, locations, etc. Using "6 degrees of separation" some could be identifiable.

This is really the most persuasive argument I've seen against requiring logins on DCUM. Of course, there are some easy ways to get around this problem:
(1) don't post so much self-identifying info in the first place,
(2) change non-relevant details (DD instead of DS for example),
(3) make it a habit to create a new login every 6 months, so your "body of work" doesn't get too big,
(4) use a separate "clean" login if you want to post something extra-snarky or embarrassing,
(5) etc

All this assumes that you really are concerned about being identified. I suspect many people posting here are not too worried. Jeff can obviously be identified, and it doesn't seem to deter his free speech even when the topic gets controversial. Zumbamama has 1600 posts, and I'm willing to bet that someone could figure out her secret identity pretty easily, but she's so open and friendly that I doubt she'd care. PenguinSix is another example of someone who probably could be identified, but I doubt he'd care too much either since he seems the type to be unembarrassed by anything he posts.
[Post New]07/08/2010 15:45
Anonymous
How can you prove somebody's real name?

If I logged in as, say "Jessica" one day and then "Peter" (oh, I changed my gender to keep my real idenity a mystery) the next time, how would be any different than being "anonymous"?
[Post New]07/08/2010 15:56
Anonymous
I post often enough that someone could connect the dots and I would not want them to. Info on life experiences, opinions about schools & camps & doctors & other things that are specific to my neighborhood / life.

Being anonymous means that I am willing to say, Dr. King (made up) is a good doctor. Camp Fun & Happy has poor administrators. etc. If I was Susie!@#$%, anyone who read enough would eventually figure out that i'm Susie, and would know my opinions not only on King, but also on Camps.

As it is, I can comment on both and no one knows.

I like it that way.

I have recognized at least 3 people on DCUM over time, it would be more if screen names existed.
[Post New]07/09/2010 21:02
SAM2
Member Offline
WoW backs down -- no real names: http://fwd4.me/WNt

I can continue to play as BunnyFuFu -- level 42 gnome mage.
[Post New]07/09/2010 22:45
Anonymous
I recognize friends here even without names. And I'm pretty sure they recognize me, too. It's kind of uncomfortable. The anonymity means we can open up more about our worries as parents, which I'm not comfortable doing with all of my friends.
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