My real name is Ben Royce.
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@benroyce@mastodon.social Germans demanding to know your name, do not recommend.
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@Tesseks @benroyce it does get enforced, I have a friend whose (real) name is the same as a character in a popular movie franchise and she's had to provide pictures of her official government ID to Facebook even before all the ID verification stuff came in to avoid having her account suspended. Repeatedly, which makes no sense at all but apparently they didn't keep a record of the first time
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@benroyce@mastodon.social Germans demanding to know your name, do not recommend.
@stephan And subsequently they will give you a new name, like Sarah or Israel. https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Namens%C3%A4nderungsverordnung @benroyce
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My real name is Ben Royce. I frequently shoot my mouth off on Mastodon. I don't fucking care
That's a luxury many people don't have
Some are trans and live in the USA
Some are in sensitive domestic or work situations
Some are exploring themselves and don't want humiliation or regret following them if they fuck up
Lots of valid reasons for #anonymity
So no Mr. #Merz, that's a stupid idea, fuck off
"#Germany's Merz calls for real names on the Internet"
Germany's Merz calls for real names on the internet
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has called for an end to widespread anonymity on the internet, saying users should post under their real names. "I want to see real names on the internet.
Yahoo News (www.yahoo.com)
@benroyce
He only knows the internet as printed version and from his attorneys about defamation suit. To this end, he is willing to disregard the constitution and conduct a house search for such a minor offense. Charges are easier to bring when real names are used. -
@stephan And subsequently they will give you a new name, like Sarah or Israel. https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Namens%C3%A4nderungsverordnung @benroyce
@carl@chaos.social @benroyce@mastodon.social oh god, when do you think trump goons will copy this?
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@carl@chaos.social @benroyce@mastodon.social oh god, when do you think trump goons will copy this?
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My real name is Ben Royce. I frequently shoot my mouth off on Mastodon. I don't fucking care
That's a luxury many people don't have
Some are trans and live in the USA
Some are in sensitive domestic or work situations
Some are exploring themselves and don't want humiliation or regret following them if they fuck up
Lots of valid reasons for #anonymity
So no Mr. #Merz, that's a stupid idea, fuck off
"#Germany's Merz calls for real names on the Internet"
Germany's Merz calls for real names on the internet
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has called for an end to widespread anonymity on the internet, saying users should post under their real names. "I want to see real names on the internet.
Yahoo News (www.yahoo.com)
@benroyce Same here! My real name is on the package and I have the opportunity to do so.
However, being on a server from a nice colleague energy nerd which is located in the US is probably not the best idea.
So, things could be improved with an own Mastodon instance. -
@bweller @benroyce as someone who finally legally changed name last year, and earlier struggled with hating own name whole life, for me main feature of the internet was possiblity to chose nicknames. Without that, I wouldn't see any sense to use that beyond just searching info needed at the moment - and I wouldn't have any channel for expression as socially isolated nerd.
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My real name is Ben Royce. I frequently shoot my mouth off on Mastodon. I don't fucking care
That's a luxury many people don't have
Some are trans and live in the USA
Some are in sensitive domestic or work situations
Some are exploring themselves and don't want humiliation or regret following them if they fuck up
Lots of valid reasons for #anonymity
So no Mr. #Merz, that's a stupid idea, fuck off
"#Germany's Merz calls for real names on the Internet"
Germany's Merz calls for real names on the internet
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has called for an end to widespread anonymity on the internet, saying users should post under their real names. "I want to see real names on the internet.
Yahoo News (www.yahoo.com)
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My real name is Ben Royce. I frequently shoot my mouth off on Mastodon. I don't fucking care
That's a luxury many people don't have
Some are trans and live in the USA
Some are in sensitive domestic or work situations
Some are exploring themselves and don't want humiliation or regret following them if they fuck up
Lots of valid reasons for #anonymity
So no Mr. #Merz, that's a stupid idea, fuck off
"#Germany's Merz calls for real names on the Internet"
Germany's Merz calls for real names on the internet
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has called for an end to widespread anonymity on the internet, saying users should post under their real names. "I want to see real names on the internet.
Yahoo News (www.yahoo.com)
@benroyce I like to bitch about my work when they fuck me over, or just the general shit I gave to put up with being a dog groomer. Seeing as how I'm a corporate dog groomer, I need online anonymity in order to do that.
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My real name is Ben Royce. I frequently shoot my mouth off on Mastodon. I don't fucking care
That's a luxury many people don't have
Some are trans and live in the USA
Some are in sensitive domestic or work situations
Some are exploring themselves and don't want humiliation or regret following them if they fuck up
Lots of valid reasons for #anonymity
So no Mr. #Merz, that's a stupid idea, fuck off
"#Germany's Merz calls for real names on the Internet"
Germany's Merz calls for real names on the internet
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has called for an end to widespread anonymity on the internet, saying users should post under their real names. "I want to see real names on the internet.
Yahoo News (www.yahoo.com)
@benroyce I wonder if that includes Maiden names of women?
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@carl@chaos.social @benroyce@mastodon.social and the whites will get the choice to change their names in antifa or domestic terrost.
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My real name is Ben Royce. I frequently shoot my mouth off on Mastodon. I don't fucking care
That's a luxury many people don't have
Some are trans and live in the USA
Some are in sensitive domestic or work situations
Some are exploring themselves and don't want humiliation or regret following them if they fuck up
Lots of valid reasons for #anonymity
So no Mr. #Merz, that's a stupid idea, fuck off
"#Germany's Merz calls for real names on the Internet"
Germany's Merz calls for real names on the internet
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has called for an end to widespread anonymity on the internet, saying users should post under their real names. "I want to see real names on the internet.
Yahoo News (www.yahoo.com)
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@benroyce No coincidence that a majority of those pushing for full names online are in positions of some power and influence - whether through being prominent experts in their fields, tenured professors, media figures, politicians, journalists, thought leaders, or whatever - which insulates them to some extent from coordinated campaigns of abuse and harassment.
Others can have their livelihoods destroyed by malicious actors, be targeted by autocratic regimes, are victims of stalkers, etc.

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My real name is Ben Royce. I frequently shoot my mouth off on Mastodon. I don't fucking care
That's a luxury many people don't have
Some are trans and live in the USA
Some are in sensitive domestic or work situations
Some are exploring themselves and don't want humiliation or regret following them if they fuck up
Lots of valid reasons for #anonymity
So no Mr. #Merz, that's a stupid idea, fuck off
"#Germany's Merz calls for real names on the Internet"
Germany's Merz calls for real names on the internet
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has called for an end to widespread anonymity on the internet, saying users should post under their real names. "I want to see real names on the internet.
Yahoo News (www.yahoo.com)
I got connected to Substack to read an article and I put in my real name. There's a comment/social media aspect to it. Old timers decry it and I get it. It's my only American-based platform for political commentary now and I don't pull punches. But I had to change my handle when a person in my small industry connected to me! The algorithm started suggesting more. Egads! It's a solid rule in business that you avoid politics. So no, Merz. People need to be able to post anonymously.
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My real name is Ben Royce. I frequently shoot my mouth off on Mastodon. I don't fucking care
That's a luxury many people don't have
Some are trans and live in the USA
Some are in sensitive domestic or work situations
Some are exploring themselves and don't want humiliation or regret following them if they fuck up
Lots of valid reasons for #anonymity
So no Mr. #Merz, that's a stupid idea, fuck off
"#Germany's Merz calls for real names on the Internet"
Germany's Merz calls for real names on the internet
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has called for an end to widespread anonymity on the internet, saying users should post under their real names. "I want to see real names on the internet.
Yahoo News (www.yahoo.com)
@benroyce Merz is white as American toast, old as fuck, privileged like few others. For his facilities to empathy, look no further than his CV, which mainly consists of eating snacks in BlackRot meetings while passing around his political address book (while demanding that employees in Germany ought to work more to push the GNP).
No, all these (very valid!) reasons you list simply don't exist in the world of a Friedrich Merz.
(also of note: The anglosaxon world is rather relaxed about name changes, to the point that some Australian state had to add some "not more than once per year and not more than 3 in a life time, if you can help it" restriction. Names are regulated _a lot_ in Germany, from what the parents can choose to what naming combinations can result from marriage to "you better have a _really_ good reason for asking for any non-marriage related name change, and we will fight you every step of the journey".)
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@Tesseks @benroyce it does get enforced, I have a friend whose (real) name is the same as a character in a popular movie franchise and she's had to provide pictures of her official government ID to Facebook even before all the ID verification stuff came in to avoid having her account suspended. Repeatedly, which makes no sense at all but apparently they didn't keep a record of the first time
-
My real name is Ben Royce. I frequently shoot my mouth off on Mastodon. I don't fucking care
That's a luxury many people don't have
Some are trans and live in the USA
Some are in sensitive domestic or work situations
Some are exploring themselves and don't want humiliation or regret following them if they fuck up
Lots of valid reasons for #anonymity
So no Mr. #Merz, that's a stupid idea, fuck off
"#Germany's Merz calls for real names on the Internet"
Germany's Merz calls for real names on the internet
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has called for an end to widespread anonymity on the internet, saying users should post under their real names. "I want to see real names on the internet.
Yahoo News (www.yahoo.com)
Funny how it's always public figures who call for an end to anonymity. Being a public figure, in most cases, is a choice.
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My real name is Ben Royce. I frequently shoot my mouth off on Mastodon. I don't fucking care
That's a luxury many people don't have
Some are trans and live in the USA
Some are in sensitive domestic or work situations
Some are exploring themselves and don't want humiliation or regret following them if they fuck up
Lots of valid reasons for #anonymity
So no Mr. #Merz, that's a stupid idea, fuck off
"#Germany's Merz calls for real names on the Internet"
Germany's Merz calls for real names on the internet
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has called for an end to widespread anonymity on the internet, saying users should post under their real names. "I want to see real names on the internet.
Yahoo News (www.yahoo.com)
@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?
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My real name is Ben Royce. I frequently shoot my mouth off on Mastodon. I don't fucking care
That's a luxury many people don't have
Some are trans and live in the USA
Some are in sensitive domestic or work situations
Some are exploring themselves and don't want humiliation or regret following them if they fuck up
Lots of valid reasons for #anonymity
So no Mr. #Merz, that's a stupid idea, fuck off
"#Germany's Merz calls for real names on the Internet"
Germany's Merz calls for real names on the internet
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has called for an end to widespread anonymity on the internet, saying users should post under their real names. "I want to see real names on the internet.
Yahoo News (www.yahoo.com)
@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.
