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Discord just killed anonymity

michael-dev-tech.github.io

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Re: Discord just killed anonymity

#61

Post by Aurornis »

echelon wrote: post #40
Aurornis wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 1. A way for politicians and the state to track porn habits to US citizens and use that information against them in the future. This topic really brings out the crazy conspiracy theories. No, politicians are not using Discord age verification to track constituents' porn habits and blackmail them with it later.

You poor summer child. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SEXINT https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sexpionage https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Vassall https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/real-life/news-life/how-no... https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2013/11/nsa-tracking-online-po... https://www.aclu.org/news/national-security/echoing-dirty-pa... https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/nov/27/nsa-files-live... It's such a successf…

> You poor summer child.

Being condescending doesn't help your case.

Link-bombing me with stories about Bitcoin scammers and South Korean telegram scams has nothing to do with your claim that politicians are using Discord to blackmail people about their porn habits.

If state-level spy agencies wanted to spy on someone's porn habits, they do not need to kindly ask Discord to collect that person's ID.

Re: Discord just killed anonymity

#62

Post by duskwuff »

echelon wrote: post #40
Aurornis wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 1. A way for politicians and the state to track porn habits to US citizens and use that information against them in the future. This topic really brings out the crazy conspiracy theories. No, politicians are not using Discord age verification to track constituents' porn habits and blackmail them with it later.

You poor summer child. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SEXINT https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sexpionage https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Vassall https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/real-life/news-life/how-no... https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2013/11/nsa-tracking-online-po... https://www.aclu.org/news/national-security/echoing-dirty-pa... https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/nov/27/nsa-files-live... It's such a successf…

> It's such a successful strategy, even Bitcoin scammers use it:

For years, email spammers have claimed to have tracked victims' porn habits to try to extort them. That's a far cry from actually doing so. (And no, they aren't actually doing it.)

Re: Discord just killed anonymity

#63

Post by [deleted] »

SapporoChris wrote: post #37
digiown wrote: post #6

Discord has always had dark patterns which basically ban anonymity. If you aren't fingerprintable enough (using VPN, etc) they will force you to enter a phone number. They also encourage guild admins to require it, although it is technically a choice.

I have used Discord for a number of years always via VPN and I've never given away my phone number.

[deleted]

Re: Discord just killed anonymity

#64

Post by duskwuff »

legitster wrote: post #34

https://discord.com/press-releases/discord-launches-teen-by-... > For the majority of adult users, we will be able to confirm your age group using information we already have. We use age prediction to determine, with high confidence, when a user is an adult. This allows many adults to access age-appropriate features without completing an explicit age check. > Facial scans never leave your device. Discord and our vend…

Even wilder - they're claiming to look at a user's activity on the platform - like what servers they're on, what games they play, and what hours they're active - and infer adulthood from that. No way that'd pass legal muster.

Re: Discord just killed anonymity

#65

Post by CivBase »

renewiltord wrote: post #44
CivBase wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> This is false. Age verification is not mandatory for all accounts. You will be able to join a Discord with your friends, chat, and do voice without age verification. You are correct. For now. But why would they stop there? Supposedly this is to protect teens. If that's true, why would they continue letting teens chat with anonymous users? What if they get tricked into sharing sensitive images or video of themselves…

Indeed, I've been saying this for decades now. Hacker News needs usernames to post. How long before they require real names? And then how long before they require IDs for those real names? And then how long before they need you to show up in person with your IDs for those real names? And then how long before they need you to bring notarized documents in person with your IDs for those real names? All so that we can po…

I gave reasons for why Discord would escalate things. Your mocking example did not. That's the difference between a slippery slope fallacy and a legitimate argument.

Re: Discord just killed anonymity

#67

Post by duskwuff »

stackghost wrote: post #22
movedx wrote: post #9

I’m going to do a video on this soon, but I was able to get Ergo IRCd and TheLounge up and running pretty quickly; https://chat.crilly.au/ I’ll be building a new platform on these two technologies and using Zoom or something else like Jitsi on the side for video/audio sharing. It’s time accept the loss of “features” and go back to something simpler but also something that can still be here in 38 years — like IRC has…

I still use a few niche IRC channels and run my own internal IRC network as a home automation message bus, so I'm a fan of IRC for its simplicity, but honestly: IRC really does need a modernization. Things like image embeds, "markdown lite" formatting, and cross-device synchronization are now considered table stakes. There are always going to be some EFnet-type grognards who resist progress because reasons, but they…

> Things like [...] are now considered table stakes.

One other feature that's absolutely considered table stakes now is persistent server-side history, with the ability to edit and delete messages. Modern chat services are less like IRC, and more like a web forum with live updates.

(Yes, you can poorly emulate server-side history on IRC with a bouncer. That's not enough, and it's a pain for users to set up.)

Re: Discord just killed anonymity

#68

Post by lambdas »

bashington wrote: post #18

To access age-gated parts of Discord, you need to verify your age. This sounds reasonable. It's not much different to having your id card checked when purchasing alcohol. Actually it's better as you only have to do it once, not on each visit.

Only if the shop assistant took your ID, photocopied it and stored it in a box marked “do not touch” under the counter, alongside transcriptions of everything you ever say inside the store.

Re: Discord just killed anonymity

#69

Post by wolvoleo »

Aurornis wrote: post #10

> Discord dropped the hammer: mandatory age verification for all users is rolling out next month. The era of anonymous gaming chats is officially over. This isn't really accurate. Age verification is not mandatory for all accounts. You will be able to join a Discord with your friends, chat, and do voice without age verification. Here's the exact list of what's restricted if you don't verify: > Content Filters: Discor…

Hmm what I talk about with my friends contains a LOT of nsfw so really without it any platform is useless to me.

I know not everyone is so open but in the lgbt space most people are.

Re: Discord just killed anonymity

#70

Post by Just_Harry »

legitster wrote: post #34

https://discord.com/press-releases/discord-launches-teen-by-... > For the majority of adult users, we will be able to confirm your age group using information we already have. We use age prediction to determine, with high confidence, when a user is an adult. This allows many adults to access age-appropriate features without completing an explicit age check. > Facial scans never leave your device. Discord and our vend…

For the United Kingdom specifically, I've suffered the misfortune of reading the Online Safety Act, and this kind of age estimation is both mentioned and permitted by the Act. (Not a lawyer blah blah blah)

Part 3, Chapter 2, Section 12(4) specifies that user-to-user service providers are required to use either age verification or age estimation (or both!) to prevent children from accessing content that is harmful to children. Section 12(6) goes on to state that "the age verification or age estimation must be of such a kind, and used in such a way, that it is highly effective at correctly determining whether or not a particular user is a child."

Part 12, Section 230(4) rules out self-declaration of age as being a form of age verification/estimation.

So I suppose it'll come down to whether or not Ofcom deems Discord's age estimation as "highly effective".

[Part 3, Chapter 2, Section 12(4)]: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2023/50/part/3/chapter/...

This is unrelated, but something I find interesting is that Category 1 user-to-user services (of which Discord is one, as per The Online Safety Act 2023 (Category 1, Category 2A and Category 2B Threshold Conditions) Regulations 2025) are required by Part 4, Chapter 1, Section 64(1) to "offer all adult users of the service the option to verify their identity (if identity verification is not required for access to the service).".

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