My real name is Ben Royce.

1a1nC

@benroyce So smart people of the fediverse -- What's the solution to letting real people be anonymous when they need to be, whilst getting rid of the anonymous bot farms and trolls?

zetabeta

@benroyce
slightly offtopic:

first and last name is not enough to individualize people, so it is bad identifier anyway. in most countries people cannot easily change their legal name.

this is widespread issue that some people think that first and last name is enough for individualization.

this idea is bad for anonymity reasons as well.

HighlandLawyer

@benroyce
The name one answers to is one's "real name".

Also pseudonymity is not the same as anonymity: ask Samuel Clemens or Eric Blair.

Christine M.

@benroyce

That plus (possibly) age restrictions which mandate giving an ID (which could be a scan of named ID papers) open up the road to full user transparency. The right to privacy - so important and enshrined in law e.g. in the EU - is on the way to being overturned, if things turn bad.

canleaf08 ⌘ ✅

@benroyce The same party proposed “Stop signs” and “licence plates” for the internet.

2something@transfem.social

@zetabeta@mastodon.social @benroyce@mastodon.social

There seems to be a belief by some cis people that "legal names" are magic.

I remember back when Twitter's "verified" users meant something, there were a fair number of people who asked "why is it limited to celebrities? Why can't they just verify anyone who sends in their driver's license?"

It was difficult for a lot of people to understand that the Twitter-users who followed the movie star Chris Evans weren't following him because his legal name is Chris Evans: they were following him because he's a movie star.

2something@transfem.social

@benroyce@mastodon.social It's interesting that politicians are always trying to hold ordinary people on the internet to standards they never hold traditional giant publishers. Penguin Random House (whose parent company is German) publishes books by pseudonymous authors all the time. And it's a "privately held" company: the shareholders don't have to reveal their ownership.

2something@transfem.social

@benroyce@mastodon.social @simonwilliamson@mastodon.world

There was a segment on The Daily Show many years ago where they found ordinary people with the same names as top politicians and got them to talk about how much they hate being associated with the people who share their names.

Netraven

@Orlaya @benroyce I'd legally change my name to something like John Smith or whatever there's already a million of within 500 miles.

Sassinake! - ⊃∪∩⪽

@benroyce

Anonymity is part of privacy, and privacy - the right to own one's body and data, and to decide who to share it with, is a human right.

When that right is transgressed, the person is 'owned' by someone else.

A serf, an indentured servant, a slave.

Orlaya

@Netraven @benroyce
Maybe there is a way to have an artists name like that and use it.

Netraven

@Orlaya @benroyce

In a perfect world, everyone would change their name to Friedrich Merz.

Orlaya

@Netraven @benroyce

Friederike Schmerz.

teacher_rick 🇪🇺

@benroyce I agree with you

Theodorus on Mastodon

@benroyce nope! Nobody needs to know my name. Well it’s Theodorus…. But who cares about the rest.

Mad A. Argon :qurio:

@xinit @benroyce Real World matters... Until it's about climate change and how it requires systemic changes to protect environment. Then they willingly look at other side and pretend nothing is happening.

Julescelt

@benroyce Ah yes, dear chancellor, because no one online has ever been harassed, doxxed, had their lives threatened or that of their family just for free speech. (I have)

Real headline; picture of idiot who thinks this simple thing will fix everything on the world wide web!

ava_doll

@benroyce Real names only? That’s kinda scary. What if I wanna be a secret ninja online? Guess Germany’s not into anonymous fun.

disorderlyf

@benroyce Literally who the fuck even wants this other than Mertz and literal nazis?

Ben Royce 🇺🇦

@Whinery

yes, morons everywhere

Wandering Adventure Party

My real name is Ben Royce.

Germany's Merz calls for real names on the internet

Germany's Merz calls for real names on the internet

Germany's Merz calls for real names on the internet

Germany's Merz calls for real names on the internet

Germany's Merz calls for real names on the internet

Germany's Merz calls for real names on the internet

Germany's Merz calls for real names on the internet

Germany's Merz calls for real names on the internet

Germany's Merz calls for real names on the internet

Germany's Merz calls for real names on the internet

Germany's Merz calls for real names on the internet

Germany's Merz calls for real names on the internet