Is Anonymity Really Necessary?

I've noted some references to other networking sites which do depend on a certain level of RL disclosure.

Myspace, Bebo, LinkedIn....

Is it just a coincidence that all of these can boast a far greater active user base than SL, and as a result a larger market valuation?

Perhaps the fact that SL caters for anonymous activity, is actually restricting its success.

Well, there is that....

Yes because protection of Constitutional rights is a sure sign of a wacko.

I think that is an apples/oranges comparison (or apples/oranges/kumquats, considering how different MySpace's market is from LinkedIn).

A global contacts site like LinkedIn, which takes 15 minutes to join and set up, is much different from a 3D game like SL.

As a premium account holder, Linden Lab (or Research or whatever they are called) has my RL name, address, etc. tied to my account so, yes, I am accountable for my actions. Accountable to those who, as providers of this service have a NEED to know that information.

You, OTOH, do NOT have a NEED to know that information.

And, just how many FAKE names and personal info exists on MySpace et al?


Thanks but, no thanks. I don't have a MySpace account, don't want one, don't need one.

To those that do, more power to you and good luck with it.

hell no

it is non of your or anyone else`s business
if i`m going to give out personal info it will be on my terms only
you could be lying trough your teeth or just used a fake id to verify
and it has nothing to do with trust when you see some one sharing their info as they can rip you off in a second aswell if their id`s are true

we`ve been there allready, lookup idv threads

myspace, bebo, facebook....
They are all 'social networking' sites. dedicated to the RL you keeping in touch with other RL people.

I see SL as completely different. It isn't a social networking site - though people certainly use it as that. It isn't purely for creating things or for business. It isn't purely a game, or another world.
SL is all of these and more. sure it doesn't appeal to everybody, but we shouldn't compare it to something totally different.


Edited to point out the fact that I have nothing against these sites - I happen to have one of each lol.

Case in point:

A while ago I was roleplaying with my RL partner, two guests, and three of my own alts in play. The guests were visiting our castle, and getting a tour of the place. Neither guest had any reason, whatsoever, to believe that they were interacting with less than 6 other real people. None of them had any reason to question the gender or age of each avatar. All were accepted as they were presented. The gruff male anthro fox Samurai guard that met them and escorded them into the castle was just as real as the shy teenaged ferret girl who brought them sushi and other refreshments. How real would it have been, if they all had my Real Name hovering over their heads?

When you see a movie, the actor's names on the credits are at the start or the end. You can ignore or not read them, and concentrate on the film. But durring the film, everyone interacts with each other in the roles they are assigned. The actor playing Frodo the Hobbit is addressed as Frodo, and not as Elijah. If every actor had their mundane real name over their head, and was addressed by that name and not the name of their character throughout the film, that suspension of disbelief would be shattered.

Yes lol, I can just imagine the elves being called Bob Fred and George. lol. That would turn it into a comedy rather than an adventure or whatever it is now.

Ok, so it seems that maybe I was a little right.

When you scratch the surface "identity theft" and safety from RL harassment aren't actually the real reasons we need anonymity in SL.

As we've seen there are several, much more successful sites which provide for more RL visibility and encounter a relatively few problems of that kind. To be honest their continued success is proof of the lack of perceived risk.

It seems SL for the most part is a generic RP environment. RP not just meaning Gore, Vampire.. etc, but RP in a more pragmatic sense - we can play with age, sex, attractiveness and marital status.

There is also a perception that being "found out" in any of these activities would be very embarrassing and have the potential to be detrimental to our RL.

It's interesting that the marketing blurb for SL doesn't emphasise this aspect. If you look, actually 70% is dedicated to selling SL as a virtual environment for commercial activities.

Which are always far less problematic if you know exactly who you are buying from/selling to.

Interesting, however if the way the internet was used changed drastically like that, its highly likely the statistics of identity theft could change big time.

This is a virtal world and most of the things most residents do in it are of no consequence outside of it, except to their own RLs. People who claim to be revealing their real identitied might be faking them anyway. Residents who are totally 'in-world' are fine staying anonymous.

The position might be slightly different for residents involved in schemes that handle large amounts of L$ like banks or investment schemes (which seem totally pointless in SL anyway!). Also not sure if anonymity is appropriate for residents representing a major RL fundraising organisation in SL.

Verification, then.

LOL

a little right? you claimed to not be concerned one way or the other.

However this post sure has a definite theme of anonymity isn't needed.

Yeah, it would be convenient to be able to verify an RL identity that somebody chooses to disclose. But I kind of like the fact that the Gorean slave girl next door might be Warren Buffet's avatar. I only actually care, though, if she tries to sell me perpetual bonds.

how many I wonder would post their full RL name on this thread?

I highly doubt even those who supposedly see no need for anonymity would do so.

Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could trust everyone, everywhere? I would love that! I tend to be a little gullible in RL - when someone tells me something, surprise, surprise, I believe them. It's gotten me in trouble a few times, but I can't help it... Thing is, you can't.
I feel I can more control who gets my info in RL (employers, friends, family, etc.) than on the internet. Why in the world would I want Joe Blow to know my address? Sure, if he really wanted to know, I suppose he could find out anyway, but why make it easier? I don't think, as the OP states, that the risks are as likely in RL as there are in SL. Simply because I only tell a limited amount of people my name and address in RL. Internet = MANY MANY people...

I worked for years in the service industry. We used to put our full name on tags - to let customers know we were honest, or stood by our products, that we were not some anonymous clerks. Well, what do you think happened? Weirdos got a hold of more information on the net using our name. Now, not only did they know what we looked liked, where to find us during the day and night, but they could also call us and, yes, stalk. We, of course, knew nothing about them... This is why you don't see full names on tags, anymore.

Again, it just makes it EASIER for them - like, in their f**ked up minds, we actually gave them permission, that we WANTED them, etc. Most people, thank god, are not weirdos. If only .01% of the population were sickos, it's still alot when you consider the amount of people on, say, SL.

I really would love to be able to exchange names, to be able to trust everyone.

This would depend upon what RL info you think people should divulge. There have been warnings about facebook concerning people revealing too much information to just anyone.

When I'm out in RL everyone I meet doesn't see my name, nor do they need to, I don't see why SL should be any different and plenty of people RL have nicknames.

wouldn`t care if i buy from a guy named bob in a 20 year old female body with max sliders set you know where or from a guy named bob with a 50 year old male avi as he is
trust, reputation, interaction is really irrelevant in here, your actions and morals are

i wouldn`t buy anything from a 30 year old female wich uses a 30 year old look female avi while having 40 campers
i would buy from the same 50 year old bob with his 20 year old looking female avi as he uses no campers

actions, actions and morals outweight everything
with business to business transactions it might add slightly to the deals but then it is still something of "yea right hmm..."

if you would say your name is bob hope, i think most people will say "what ever", if say some one like desmond would claim his name is bob hope (hope not for him ), i`d most likely would trust him as he has a great reputation and business in here for some time

Mostly because when I ban somebody, I want them _and_ their alts to go away.

Why would knowing my RL details matter, unless I was going to meet you?

I've given them out, to people I trusted. This has backfired once, but you learn from your mistakes.

Personally I don't much CARE what someone's RL details are unless they are very very important to me. Even then they might not really want to share them.

The likes of Facebook etc are not for me. Who wants to know my inane ramblings anyway?

Oh I am with you there!!!!!!!!!!!

dunno, but if you wouldn`t do it here, it would be abit more boring

Both excellent points

Bilbo is pretty real. He's me wandering around a pixellated landscape socialising with among others, three RL friends, one my fiancee. My alts are actors in a fantasy. Of course I want them anonymous.

Aww Qie! I got a real fail-safe proposition here!

Oh, and then there the TV ads, at least in my state, produced by the state Attorney General's office warning people to NOT divulge too much personal information on the social networking sites because of the number of incidents reported to them...

/me shrugs, mounts her white horse and rides off into the sunset, silver bullets glistening...