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Real name policies and ruling the world

theartificialintelligenceblog.com

31–40 of 153 posts

Re: Real name policies and ruling the world

#31
I don't know why there are special rules for popular websites. If there was some building in town where you had to show ID to get in and participate in whatever activity was going on, imagine when the ankle biters showed up and announced that it was 'dangerous and evil' to require people to have to use their real identity to come inside the building.

If you have some reason to not go on facebook, don't go on facebook. There is basically nothing worthwhile there anyway, you aren't being personally attacked because they want to run their community the way they think is best.

Re: Real name policies and ruling the world

#33

I've had a clearly fake name on Facebook for years. A couple weeks ago I got message from one of their reps, letting me know that there was an issue about my name, and that it was currently being reviewed. I had no intention to link that account to my real name, as it was mostly political whining and interaction with a few close friends. I basically told them that I wouldn't change the name and that they should just…

It's enforced if people choose to report you, and 'proving' your name to them can be somewhat involved It's also more likely they will hassle you over it if your name isn't white. Maybe those sorts of names tend to be fake more often, but probably not.

I'm pretty sure I was reported by someone I disagreed with in the comments of a political post. My point was that I bypassed "proving" because I refused to comply to their rule.

I've seen no evidence of different treatment based on race. Would you mind citing your source?

Re: Real name policies and ruling the world

#34
post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you agree that you would have the authority to ask to take a picture of someone's identification before allowing them into your house?

Do you agree that a web service is not a private residence? A coffe shop, a supermarket, a bookstore, etc. doesn't have right to check your ID. Heck, from what I know, in the US even the police cannot ask you for an id without "reasonable suspicion" that you did something illegal.

>Do you agree that a web service is not a private residence?

For all purpose and effect, it equals a private residence. After all the web service is run by somebody on servers that somebody either owns or pays for.

If I don't want you on my web service I have every right in the world not to let you in/use it because you have no right to demand usage of my private property (servers).

>A coffe shop, a supermarket, a bookstore, etc. doesn't have right to check your ID.

While I'm not 100% sure about the legal situation in the US, I'm pretty sure regular householder's rights apply.

They have the right demand all kinds of things before allowing you on their private premises and you have the right to say "Nah" and not enter their private premises as a result of that, their club, their rules.

>Heck, from what I know, in the US even the police cannot ask you for an id without "reasonable suspicion" that you did something illegal.

In theory, the same was true for German police until... you guess it: 9/11 and the big push for the "war on terror" happened. Since then many countries have adopted additional legislation to allow police more "freedom" with ID checks.

Germany adopted this by declaring certain zones as "higher risk", like near government buildings, public transportation hubs and so on. Police can demand ID from pretty much anybody in a certain radius to such zones, this process is then called "verdachtsunabhänge Personenkontrolle" which loosely translates to "identity check regardless of suspicion".

I'm pretty sure the US has adopted similar legislation, just like the US (supposedly the country of the freest of free speech) adopted the usage of "Free speech zones".

Re: Real name policies and ruling the world

#35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you agree that you would have the authority to ask to take a picture of someone's identification before allowing them into your house?

Do you agree that the person I ask has the right to know why I am asking for the ID, why I'm taking the photo, and what I plan to do with it?

You're free to ask Facebook that before providing your identification.

Re: Real name policies and ruling the world

#36
post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you agree that you would have the authority to ask to take a picture of someone's identification before allowing them into your house?

Do you agree that a web service is not a private residence? A coffe shop, a supermarket, a bookstore, etc. doesn't have right to check your ID. Heck, from what I know, in the US even the police cannot ask you for an id without "reasonable suspicion" that you did something illegal.

I've had people ask to see my ID to verify my identity when using a credit card at several stores. When I buy cough medicine or alcohol, the cashier will not only ask to see my ID but will scan it and store it in a database.

Re: Real name policies and ruling the world

#37
post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Still use all those things to your heart's content; just don't create a Facebook account...

When 99% of your friends use Facebook, it becomes very hard to avoid it [0]. If you want to advertise your new book among them, what would you do, for example? [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Network_effect

Through one of the many other sites those friends probably use. Facebook probably isn't the only thing on the internet you and your circle of friends have in common.

Re: Real name policies and ruling the world

#38
post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Do not use the Internet. Do not use phones. Do not use bank accounts. Do not travel by plane. Do not enter public spaces. Do not show your face. Otherwise you accept our Terms of Service. Thank you for trusting us." (C) QuantumRoar, https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12958035

Still use all those things to your heart's content; just don't create a Facebook account...

You don't need to! Facebook will create one for you. It's called a "shadow profile", and as far as I'm aware, there is no way to opt out, prevent it occurring, or even discover what information about you - true or otherwise - is retained under this rubric.

Re: Real name policies and ruling the world

#39
post #27
post #15

Without real names, Facebook would be as junky as Myspace was.

Here's just two examples as to why online anonymity is so critical, there's cases like this every single day. You might think, so what? You're free to keep on thinking that right up until you're the one going to jail for criticising your boss. http://www.eutimes.net/2016/12/facebook-bans-german-woman-fo... http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/thailand-woman-...

Facebook does not represent the end of online anonymity because Facebook is one single site. There is nothing objectionable about one site having a rule to use your real name or not at all, and it is the height of entitlement to claim otherwise. (It's popular, so now they have to do X Y and Z)

Doubly so given how granular the controls are regarding who can see what. Sharing on Facebook is a completely opt-in process, so if you don't want your boss seing your pictures, you have a litany of options, including lists, person-to-person sharing, blocking, and not friending them in the first place.

The problem is that this requires a modicum of effort, and people don't want to have to expend that effort. They want to be able to blast everything out there and just kinda hope that it doesn't get them in trouble. It takes effort to use stuff that's not Facebook.

Re: Real name policies and ruling the world

#40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's enforced if people choose to report you, and 'proving' your name to them can be somewhat involved It's also more likely they will hassle you over it if your name isn't white. Maybe those sorts of names tend to be fake more often, but probably not.

I'm pretty sure I was reported by someone I disagreed with in the comments of a political post. My point was that I bypassed "proving" because I refused to comply to their rule. I've seen no evidence of different treatment based on race. Would you mind citing your source?

I've been told Native Americans often have problem with the "real names" policy because they often sound "fake" to people used to European names.
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