I have been doing this "posting online" thing since before Compuserve and AOL. At one point I ran the "OSU Macintosh Users Bulletin Board Service (BBS)" on a 128K Macintosh connected to my home phone with a 300 baud modem. (If you don't know what that is, don't worry, it has nothing to do with this post!)
In all that time the subject of pseudonyms comes up regularly and any suggestion of requiring real names is vigorously opposed.
However, one thing that is constant is forums that do require real names are much more polite.
What are your thoughts - I am not suggesting TOTV should change, just asking in general.
Personally, I think a lot of the hate and vitriol we see in so many places online is only because of people being anonymous. And I think in many cases that carries over into real life.
I am all for free speech, but almost every forum (like TOTV) is a private service, and free speech is not guaranteed in that situation.
Inquiring minds want to know... (haven't heard that in a while have you!
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