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What if, by law every last person had to use their real name on the internet?

Remember, it's not paranoia when they're really out to get you.

Bonus points if you can name the source without a Google search. ;) :) :D
Not sure if it's the original source, but Nirvana's Territorial Pissings has a line close to that:

Just because you're paranoid, don't mean they're not after you.

ASOB's I've Got Enemies in High Places has nearly the same line.

----

So who's right?
9to5 is right
9to5 is right
9to5 is right
9to5 is right
9to5 is right
:rofl: :D
 
I worked in a large corporation that was rather well connected. Everyone was in the online corporate phone book complete with manager’s name and exact location of the person. We had online social bulletin boards and even though you knew exactly where everyone was, it never stopped people from being complete jerks and starting massive flame wars. Some people are naturally aggressive and lack of anonymity just won't stop em...
 
People would still cause trouble, without exact addresses people would still think they could get away with things without someone showing up at their doorstep with a baseball bat haha.

But certainly it would take the fun out of the internet, it would probably get rid of a lot of things people enjoyed...the main being anonymity
 
I started my 'net life in the fledgling day of the internet. I remember the first time I heard of the world wide web in the early 90s. I envisioned a giant spider's web. At that point the only thing we did was play MUDs, send email (with Pine), read BBS postings and look at ASCII art.

We all used our real name on our finger settings (along with our net handle) in our accounts along with our email address. Many of my friends today still use their handles as RL nicknames. I have a number of friends who for years never knew my real name, just my net handle, but everyone knew that was me.

As said previously, I don't think everyone would act totally differently if there was no anonymity. Some people just have it in their nature to be horrible people. I've seen it working in big companies when company wide emails would go out and someone would reply to all and then before you knew it there was a reply all flame war happening.
 
I predate the web and was already posting in government and university and operating system venues by the time the web started. Many of us back then did use our names when the web started up and would speak freely about our locations and so forth, thinking, what could possibly go wrong?

I don't regret anything I've said online.

I do regret that whack job that law enforcement had to subdue who showed up my work place wanting to get even with the guy who had given him bad dreams because of - frankly - who knows why? (Maybe his shrinks, I don't know.)

He was a dangerous nutjob and I got off lucky.

And that's the flip side to the openness idea there, my friend. :) ;)

My real name is Barron Von Ezmer Nerko Astrinburger. I use Bob Maxey because it flows better.

We will never see such a law. Then again, I remember when lots of what we see today would never have come to pass, so why not.

When does this new law go into effect?

And what if the Bob Maxey on Face Book, the Bob Maxey that owns Bob Maxey Lincoln, the legendary racer named Bob Maxey and Bob Maxey the Vice President of Sandvick start doing things . . . really bad things?

How will we be able to tell which Bob it was? Could be the loveable Bob of Android or Robert Maxey, the Nazi sympathizer.
 
Although my name is a bit unusual, there are at least a dozen people in the US alone that I'm aware of who have the exact same name as mine. What are they going to do about that?

Something tells me that peoples' names isn't a viable replacement for the Internet Protocol. My ISPs already have my name. If someone turns the Internet into the ultimate identity theft app, then I'll stop using it.
 
The perceived anonymity of the Internet has allowed people to say what they truly think and feel, and I think that's a good thing in general. Sometimes it can be insightful and inspiring to see the human intellect evolve; sometimes it can be a downer to realize just how many idiots are also out there.
 
The perceived anonymity of the Internet has allowed people to say what they truly think and feel, and I think that's a good thing in general. Sometimes it can be insightful and inspiring to see the human intellect evolve; sometimes it can be a downer to realize just how many idiots are also out there.

We have to take the good with the bad. At least my experience with the internet as it is today has been a lot more good than bad.
 
I really like hearing about you *cough*old*cough* guy's pre-internet stories. (;)) They are interesting. I'm a bit bummed that I missed out on BBSs. *shrug* Once a week, you pre-internet guys should get together and talk about the old days.

A 'Pre-Internet' podcast. A web2.0 product about the web 0.1... :D

I'd listen to that. ;) :p

I'll start. My first word processor was a sheet of paper and a 5 cent pencil you bought from a pencil vending machine in the main office. I was amazed when I got a deluxe box of crayons. Now I had a 256 color pallet to choose from.

I seldom wrote anything of value which is exactly like the bulk of the Internet today.

And in those days, cut and paste REALLY meant cut and paste.
 
What goes around, comes around. Look at the Raspberry Pi.
Lots of people have gone back to cooking. Even the guys are getting into gourmet.

I decided to bake bread with a bread machine.

And there's at least 100 stars with Arabic names, so legally I have whatever catalog they use as an alias. SAO for example. Sadalsu'ud. Lucky star of the king, Beta Aquarii, etc,. I also have coordinates in my place in the sky RA and Dec./ or Alt-az.
All this is specific to one star.
 
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