Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Is it bad practice to use your real name online?

security.stackexchange.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

101–110 of 166 posts

Re: Is it bad practice to use your real name online?

#101

Post by aaronbrethorst »

randomdata wrote: post #92
eshvk wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One thing that fascinates me is Linkedin Groups/Forums. People post the most outrageously sexist opinions or have kindergarten level fights with other people there; all connected to their real names. It is not as bad as Youtube comments but it is not clear how all these people don't have a filter. I guess only time will tell if Youtube comments get moderated due to the real name connection.

However, the most effective way to learn is to make bold statements based on your current level of understanding and wait for people to correct your errors. Sometimes you even need to play devil's advocate to properly model the information in your head. Our great folly as humans is in assuming statements connected to names actually mean anything.

I don't think that's true at all. See this Quora thread, for instance, which discusses effective means of learning at length: http://www.quora.com/Learning/What-is-the-most-effective-way...

…oh, I see what you did there ;)

Re: Is it bad practice to use your real name online?

#102

Post by return0 »

ryanthejuggler wrote: post #69
return0 wrote: post #19

I am prejudiced against people who use their real names when the website allows them to use a nickname: I automatically assume they will be uninteresting, their opinions sheepish and will always avoid confrontation or controversial ideas. I feel like they are always talking in the presence of their mother.

I have to argue against that. Many people want to make themselves heard and become known for their opinions, so they attach their real name to their work.

Which is why they're likely to be crowd-pleasers rather than original contributors. The various karma systems only exacerbate this behavior.

Re: Is it bad practice to use your real name online?

#103

Post by robbrown451 »

gtz59 wrote: post #81
robbrown451 wrote: post #73

The advantages of using your name can often outweigh the disadvantages. Reputation is a valuable thing. You don't gain a good reputation by hiding away. You build a good reputation by making a positive impression on lots of people over a long period of time. You can't do that if you are always anonymous. If I was hiring someone, I'd google them. And if nothing turned up, that would give a somewhat negative impression…

by "somewhat negative", do you just mean that less information makes you less confident about a decision? Or do you mean that being quiet is bad?

"Somewhat negative" in the sense that it suggests that they haven't made much of an impact on the world, or that they don't have much to say. They are much more of an unknown quantity.

Quiet isn't "bad" per se, but I'd rather hire someone who is confident enough in what they have to say, to say some stuff publicly.

Re: Is it bad practice to use your real name online?

#104

Post by clarkm »

anaphor wrote: post #17

I use my real name, and I quite frankly do not care if I get passed up for a job or something like that because of something I said online. I'm pretty sure any employer I would actually want to work for wouldn't care about me ranting about the NSA or something (might even get me a job, who knows). That being said, I do not say anything online that I wouldn't in real life (except perhaps on IRC channels where I use a…

> I do not say anything online that I wouldn't in real life

But do you say things in real life that you wouldn't online?

Re: Is it bad practice to use your real name online?

#105

Post by robbrown451 »

gngeal wrote: post #58
aaronbrethorst wrote: post #37

I use my real name everywhere online. The reasons why are pretty straightforward: 1. It reminds me to be civil and think before I post. 2. It makes it easier for other people reach out to me based on things I've posted (I have a fairly unique name). Pseudonyms are relatively easy to 'decode'. If I wrote something particularly dumb, offensive, or stupid, and someone wanted to pin that on me, I'm sure they could given…

1. It reminds me to be civil and think before I post. That sounds very much like "I don't kill people because I'd get caught". Why can't you be civil (whatever that means) and think just because?

"I don't kill people because I'd get caught" is probably true for most people.

If you lived in a society where killing didn't tend to be punished, you'd probably kill. Because if you didn't you'd be dead. Don't underestimate people's tendency to adapt to their environments.

I get what you are saying, but I think if you look at it in the big picture, sites which require real names (and sites that otherwise reward you for gaining a positive reputation over the long term) tend not to degenerate into cesspools of ugliness. It may be partly because the non-civil go elsewhere, but I think it also is because it encourages civility from those who are there.

Re: Is it bad practice to use your real name online?

#106

Post by etfb »

So much awesome cluelessness in the replies on that post. "It's definitely safe to use your real name," says WHAMM (White Heterosexual Able-bodied Middle-class Male) #1 confidently. "Nobody ever suffers from real-world social and legal consequences as a result of what they do online. No gay teenager from a small town has ever been bashed to death by homophobes after he got outed for his online activities. No woman on the run from an abusive husband ever got tracked down and 'punished' as a result of profile details on the internet. No activist fighting an oppressive regime ever got 'disappeared' after the authorities tracked them down using a web forum profile. It's all perfectly safe. Don't inconvenience us!"

Re: Is it bad practice to use your real name online?

#107

Post by Moto7451 »

danso wrote: post #74
lelandbatey wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I felt the same way about nicknames, but at some point I realized that I had a digital trail attached to my online-name that was a mile wide. I figured I might as well just start using my real name (which is rather unique already). Also, I find your story of rules interesting. When I was first introduced to the internet (when I was about 7 years old, in school), the one "rule" I remember being told to us over and ove…

Wow, you must be very young, i.e. 10-12, or have very perceptive teachers. I feel that teachers and other authority figures still don't get it , especially those above 40 who aren't in a Internet/computer-heavy field. And even young folks in the tech field still don't realize it (basically everyone who uses something like SnapChat too enthusiastically)

I'm 25 and was told the same thing back in elementary school after our super high tech ISDN line was installed.

Re: Is it bad practice to use your real name online?

#108

Post by robbrown451 »

bsamuels wrote: post #41
AndrewKemendo wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Here is a n=1 for you: I just forcefully argued against male circumcision on Reddit. Check it out if you like.

The problem is that circumcision isn't a heated controversy, it's not like someone is going to dox you because you made an argument against it. Here's a few arguments off the top of my head that someone might dox you for: -Whether or not feminism is the cause of the recent emasculation of men -Whether or not Israel is committing crimes against humanity in Gaza and against the Palestinians -Whether or not transexual p…

I would far prefer discuss such charged topics in places where people have incentives to choose their words carefully. It's fine to have a controversial opinion, but without checks and balances on behavior, you don't have a discussion, you just have a bunch of racists spouting their vile views.

Re: Is it bad practice to use your real name online?

#109

Post by clarkm »

simonebrunozzi wrote: post #83

As you can see from my username here on HN and everywhere else, I have decided to go with full disclosure. I think there are a lot of pros, and a few cons, some of them very annoying.

Like when your children start going through your post history and reading stuff about you they weren't supposed to know (yet).

Re: Is it bad practice to use your real name online?

#110

Post by 001sky »

danso wrote: post #74
lelandbatey wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I felt the same way about nicknames, but at some point I realized that I had a digital trail attached to my online-name that was a mile wide. I figured I might as well just start using my real name (which is rather unique already). Also, I find your story of rules interesting. When I was first introduced to the internet (when I was about 7 years old, in school), the one "rule" I remember being told to us over and ove…

Wow, you must be very young, i.e. 10-12, or have very perceptive teachers. I feel that teachers and other authority figures still don't get it , especially those above 40 who aren't in a Internet/computer-heavy field. And even young folks in the tech field still don't realize it (basically everyone who uses something like SnapChat too enthusiastically)

They've been tracking everyone since 9/11. That was the day the world changed for online anonymity. For good or bad, it just is. Of course, the powers of authority (eg, teachers) also want it that way. You can see it in the language of fear the perpetuate: we are watching you...etc.
Post reply on HN