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Show HN: I made a site that shows jobs where you can work pseudonymously

anonfriendly.com

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Re: Show HN: I made a site that shows jobs where you can work pseudonymously

#191

Post by titanomachy »

hn_throwaway_99 wrote: post #169

Lots of other comments around the dubious legality of this, at least in the US. I'd like to comment, though, on the fact that the majority of these jobs are in the crypto/defi space. I'm also not alone in commenting on this, and this fact alone is obviously not surprising, but I'd like to point out that the central idea of crypto that you can somehow "escape the government's control of finance" by using crypto is as…

"Largely downside unless you are an anti-government absolutist..."

Or, the public persona associated with your real identity is so visibly antisocial/radioactive that nobody would hire you if they knew who you were.

Re: Show HN: I made a site that shows jobs where you can work pseudonymously

#192

Post by woodruffw »

I don't think most of this is legal, at least in the United States. In the US, your employer is required to collect certain basic facts about you for tax and compliance purposes: your legal name and your legal status are the most basic ones, followed by your working location/residence (for local tax purposes). An employer who fails to collect and retain this information is effectively indistinguishable from a sweatshop owner.

On the other hand, "pseudonymously" might really just mean that the company collects that information, and doesn't forcefully disclose any of it to your coworkers. Which seems...not particularly abnormal? I've worked with over a dozen people over the years whose "official" name, residence, &c. was never disclosed to me.

Re: Show HN: I made a site that shows jobs where you can work pseudonymously

#193

Post by 0xPersona »

lajamerr wrote: post #100
0xPersona wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hey! Good question. I wish I could give you a better answer but the truth is I don't know (yet). That's one of the reasons I built this. I want to learn how organizations deal with things like that, and share that knowledge so we can create best practices. I promise that soon as I know the answer, I'll circle back!

Maybe your company/service can be the middle-man. Offer varying levels of checks that are optional for the employer to require or the Contractor to fill out. Identity as a service. Have things like "This person is authorized to work for U.S. Companies", "This person is certified in x." Your company would check the verification and make sure it's valid but then delete the supporting documentation or anything identifyi…

Thank you so much for your suggestions, lajamerr. Really means a lot to me. Those are all brilliant ideas.

That's actually the direction I'm hoping to take it. Ultimately, the goal is to accelerate the advent of the pseudonymous economy. And one aspect of that involves creating the necessary tools/ecosystem for employers to accurately verify/assess pseudonymous talent. I'd thought about verifying skills but your suggestion of verifying things like "This person is authorized to work for U.S. Companies" is even more interesting to me.

Thanks again. You've really encouraged me. Your comment has made my day!

Re: Show HN: I made a site that shows jobs where you can work pseudonymously

#194

Post by pilsetnieks »

gnulinux wrote: post #164
0xPersona wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes! And I think that's an important point to consider. Personally I think of "anon friendly" as existing on a spectrum. Organizations offer various degrees of it. Some "anon friendly lite" organizations will allow you to work pseudonymously, the entire organization doesn't need to know your legal identity, but certain personnel (like execs/HR) will. On the other end of the spectrum are organizations that offer "full…

> On the other end of the spectrum are organizations that offer "full anon friendly" where they don't request any information about your legal identity. I don't think that'd be legal in the US. Employer has to at least verify that the person is allowed to work in the US (i.e. a citizen, permanent resident, or a legal alien with some work visa) which requires revealing employee's true identity to HR. Or do you think t…

Shell corporation and contracts instead of employment.

Re: Show HN: I made a site that shows jobs where you can work pseudonymously

#195

Post by 0xPersona »

warkdarrior wrote: post #137
lajamerr wrote: post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe your company/service can be the middle-man. Offer varying levels of checks that are optional for the employer to require or the Contractor to fill out. Identity as a service. Have things like "This person is authorized to work for U.S. Companies", "This person is certified in x." Your company would check the verification and make sure it's valid but then delete the supporting documentation or anything identifyi…

> Maybe your company/service can be the middle-man. Offer varying levels of checks that are optional for the employer to require or the Contractor to fill out. > Identity as a service. This is a great idea. I know people who would pay good money for a pseudoidentity that presents them as authorized to work in US, with expertise in some key technical areas (cryptography, robotics, real-time monitoring and response, et…

Thank you so much for your affirmation of that idea, warkdarrior. Your comment is really encouraging.

Forgive me if this is too bold but is there any way you could connect me with those people? Or perhaps let me know where I should be looking for the people with that need e.g. any communities online.

These are the people I'm building for :)

Re: Show HN: I made a site that shows jobs where you can work pseudonymously

#196

Post by throwaway81523 »

stingraycharles wrote: post #146
chias wrote: post #104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I also have some more questions, such as: * how do you provide me with health insurance and other governmental benefits? * for the purposes of anything official, am I as an individual technically unemployed? * how do you provide me with retirement options such as a 401k? * how do you report on my earnings to the IRS?

I don’t know how these companies actually do it, but I reckon the easiest way to set this up is if you register locally as an independent freelancer or equivalent. That way you take care of all that yourself. That does, of course, leave the question of how to actually get paid anonymously, as there are plenty of accounting requirements for businesses that aren’t compatible with anonymity here either.

I notice most of the jobs listed involve cryptocurrency, sometimes called "prosecution futures" by skeptics ;).

Re: Show HN: I made a site that shows jobs where you can work pseudonymously

#197

Post by syzygyhack »

waspight wrote: post #80

So what is doxxing anyway? Is the concern that anyone googling you will find you phone number or address? Why is that so bad in general? As long as you are not in some unique position like a famous person or something.

Bit of a myopic take, don't you think? Everyone but the most extreme recluse is probably going to have run-ins with less-than-savory characters at some point in their lives no matter what they do or how they act. Your personal information does not belong on Google.

Re: Show HN: I made a site that shows jobs where you can work pseudonymously

#198

Post by 0xPersona »

jkaplan wrote: post #182
somenameforme wrote: post #155

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can observe plenty of people acting like the worst imaginable human being on Facebook or Twitter - all under their own name. I think you're spot on about the issue, but I'd argue the reason is simply scale. When you have only 5 people in your vicinity you're going to form deep relationships with them, whether or not you want to - or whether or not you like them. It will simply happen due to the fact you're going…

Oh for sure! I’m not saying using real names automatically creates real relationships and trust, just that it helps. I just generally want to see the internet moving toward deeper, more meaningful interactions, which, like you say, is a big challenge, and almost certainly means some form of making things “smaller.” But making things more anonymous strikes me as the wrong direction.

Completely appreciate the points you laid out in both of your comments, thanks for sharing!

One counter-point, just from my own personal experience, but adopting a pseudonym online has actually allowed me to be more authentic and more sociable. I've made a lot of awesome friends that I don't think I'd have made had it not been for being pseudonymous. It can be quite liberating and reduces the fear/impact of trying new things, speaking to new people, and more.

Re: Show HN: I made a site that shows jobs where you can work pseudonymously

#199

Post by throwaway81523 »

cguess wrote: post #178
Canada wrote: post #145

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The buyer of your labor could pay your health insurance directly, or reimburse you for it. For the purposes of anything official, you are unemployed. You would not get any retirement options. Your earnings would not be reported to the IRS. Your government could say it's illegal to receive money under these circumstances, and they basically do. But think about what that means.

> Your government could say it's illegal to receive money under these circumstances, and they basically do. But think about what that means. That you're committing tax fraud and will probably spend a non-trivial amount of time in prison for tax avoidance as well as having a significant portion of property seized to pay back taxes?

If you report the income and pay the tax, there isn't tax fraud afaict. Eligibility verification if the work is in the US might be a different matter.

Re: Show HN: I made a site that shows jobs where you can work pseudonymously

#200

Post by 0xPersona »

InefficientRed wrote: post #147
gorbachev wrote: post #113

The first time one of these companies hire someone from Iran, Syria, North Korea, Cuba or any of the other countries under sanctions practically everywhere and et hit by multi-million dollar penalties and severe restrictions on how they can operate in the future, this thing will stop being a thing. How would they even know, if a competitor got hired to work for them? This might possibly be a good thing for workers, b…

Might not even get there. It's almost all defi which is imploding ATM. All of the LooksRare job postings 404. The rest have application instructions which amount to "engage with our social media", which makes me wonder if the jobs ever existed or if it's exclusively a way to generate leads and the appearance of buy-in. The beauty of anon hiring is that we'll never know.

Hey, thanks for commenting! Are the LooksRare job postings responding with a 404? Their application involves sending an email, when you click "apply" it launches your email client. It's working for me. Am I missing something? Thank you :)
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