"Anonymously earning income, using banks, and getting health care are much bigger problems"
Because of fraud of course, not because legal names are somehow holy. Did you know for example that passports are a recent invention? Did you know that even names where at some point invented? They are now though widely used and conventional.
Honestly however, throughout all your replies here, I have not to be very honest heard of one reason why the choice of people should be limited by such a gigantic organisation which in many ways defines the internet and for a number of people is the interent.
The excuse that your mother might be apprehensive about commenting because djjd has commented is frankly ridiculous. Firstly, you can simply educate her that this is how the internet works. Anyway, I do not think your mother would comment if that person was using a real name either because that person would probably be a friend or a number or friends or coworkers and frankly, I would rather my mother did not so engage in commenting in such spheres. My mother is some distant figure they get to meet when they come home and she makes them a very nice dinner.
Your second point was basically you like it and therefore I do not care that other people do not like it. You are saying google has the choice to make such policy and you disagreeing with it does not matter at all because if you do not like it you can go somewhere else. That is what those in power say to those that challenge them. Not saying you are in power at all, but when someone criticises something, you can not simply say well you do not like it, then leave. If I am challenging the government because of a policy, my government can not simply say, well leave. Nor indeed is it an excuse that the rich may leave if we tax them.
We are talking about millions of people. Google+ is hardly a niche. When we talk about Facebook, we are talking about billions of people. You see, that is how social networks work. Though you can have a network for those that use nicknames and those that do not, what if these people want to share the same network?
Finally, Facebook has been very vocal about its antagonism against anonymity. Google is very high profile too so they enforcing a real name policy is not a small deal. Soon, they will want us to use real names everywhere. These are not small fish. They are giants, really, in some ways, the governments of the internet. So it is not about G+ or Facebook. I think, it is about a principle. The principle to be anonymous. The principle to not be judged by colour, ethnicity, gender, nationality, orientation, disability, etc. Names convey a lot of information. Indeed they convey all of these informations.
The internet is a level playing field where people are judged based on content, unlike, in many instances, in the real life. The internet is so awesome because in many ways it is not like real life. It is, in many ways, completely different from real life. That is what has made it such a powerful engine of our society and if you wish the power structures in the real world to be transported to this world, then you must be mad.
Not saying you are in power at all, but when someone criticises something, you can not simply say well you do not like it, then leave.
We're talking about what websites people visit in their spare time here, not the government or Comcast. It's the equivalent of saying, "If you don't like Chicken McNuggets, don't go to McDonalds and order them."
So it is not about G+ or Facebook. I think, it is about a principle. The principle to be anonymous. The principle to not be judged by colour, ethnicity, gender, nationality, orientation, disability, etc. Names convey a lot of information. Indeed they convey all of these informations.
The internet is a level playing field where people are judged based on content, unlike, in many instances, in the real life. The internet is so awesome because in many ways it is not like real life. It is, in many ways, completely different from real life. That is what has made it such a powerful engine of our society and if you wish the power structures in the real world to be transported to this world, then you must be mad.
That's not an argument against G+ or Facebook not allowing pseudonyms, it's an argument against people using G+ or Facebook in the first place.
If you're looking for some type of utopian metaverse where everyone takes on androgynous identities and interact with strangers, there's plenty of that to be found. Social networking sites were specifically created to provide something different, and they got popular because a lot of people want that.
It turns out most people use the internet as a tool to interact with the real world. If the internet was just some sort of metaverse, it wouldn't be a powerful engine of society at all--it's useful specifically because it's connected to the real world. Google and Wikipedia help people find information about the real world. Amazon helps people select and purchase physical goods to be shipped to them in the real world. Your bank's website helps you pay your bills, including the mortgage or rent for whatever physical chunk of the real world your flesh and bones sleep in at night. Countless websites exist to help people meet up and physically pleasure each other's (potentially) gendered, colored, disabled bodies in whatever orientation they want in real life. Likewise, Facebook and Google+ help people keep in touch with other people in the real world.
People who want pseudonymous conversations with strangers still have no shortage of choices. (You might notice that we're having one right now, or we would be if not for our choice of usernames.)
Before I'm finished, I have another point to make. All that Facebook and Google+ did was set up a web application that millions of people voluntarily used, and millions of people voluntarily chose not to use, for free. There's no force or natural monopoly here, just a diversion, a leisure activity if you will. I honestly cannot understand the sense of entitlement here. It's not like people don't have choices, it's that for the people who use Facebook, Facebook is what they want, and for the people who use Google+, Google+ is what they want.
If you (or indeed anyone) feels strongly enough that some type of anonymous social network would be a great idea, and that the current plethora of news sites and web forums are missing something, why don't you back up your words and set it up yourself? If that's what people want, then it'll be a success. Hey, it might be a lot to ask, but it's no more than the people who built Facebook and Google+ have done. If your principles are so important that you're personally insulted that Facebook and Google+ don't follow them, they're strong enough that you should consider doing something about the situation yourself.
Because of fraud of course, not because legal names are somehow holy. Did you know for example that passports are a recent invention? Did you know that even names where at some point invented? They are now though widely used and conventional.
Honestly however, throughout all your replies here, I have not to be very honest heard of one reason why the choice of people should be limited by such a gigantic organisation which in many ways defines the internet and for a number of people is the interent.
The excuse that your mother might be apprehensive about commenting because djjd has commented is frankly ridiculous. Firstly, you can simply educate her that this is how the internet works. Anyway, I do not think your mother would comment if that person was using a real name either because that person would probably be a friend or a number or friends or coworkers and frankly, I would rather my mother did not so engage in commenting in such spheres. My mother is some distant figure they get to meet when they come home and she makes them a very nice dinner.
Your second point was basically you like it and therefore I do not care that other people do not like it. You are saying google has the choice to make such policy and you disagreeing with it does not matter at all because if you do not like it you can go somewhere else. That is what those in power say to those that challenge them. Not saying you are in power at all, but when someone criticises something, you can not simply say well you do not like it, then leave. If I am challenging the government because of a policy, my government can not simply say, well leave. Nor indeed is it an excuse that the rich may leave if we tax them.
We are talking about millions of people. Google+ is hardly a niche. When we talk about Facebook, we are talking about billions of people. You see, that is how social networks work. Though you can have a network for those that use nicknames and those that do not, what if these people want to share the same network?
Finally, Facebook has been very vocal about its antagonism against anonymity. Google is very high profile too so they enforcing a real name policy is not a small deal. Soon, they will want us to use real names everywhere. These are not small fish. They are giants, really, in some ways, the governments of the internet. So it is not about G+ or Facebook. I think, it is about a principle. The principle to be anonymous. The principle to not be judged by colour, ethnicity, gender, nationality, orientation, disability, etc. Names convey a lot of information. Indeed they convey all of these informations.
The internet is a level playing field where people are judged based on content, unlike, in many instances, in the real life. The internet is so awesome because in many ways it is not like real life. It is, in many ways, completely different from real life. That is what has made it such a powerful engine of our society and if you wish the power structures in the real world to be transported to this world, then you must be mad.