Source
r/AskConservatives•
thisdotstate

Do you believe anonymity on the internet has benefited society, and that it should stay anonymous in the future?

Right now there is very little that ties your online persona to your real life offline. Even though Facebook or Twitter for example would prefer that you not do this, you can set up as many accounts as you want, under as many different names as you want.

Sites like reddit don't even care about your real identity and embrace the fact that people can say whatever they want on their service with complete privacy.

Do you believe that this should continue through our lifetimes? Or should the internet evolve in a way so that there is less of a barrier between online and offline identities. Like for example, logging onto Amazon to troll people with fake reviews would have the same level of accountability as walking to the store in person and harassing the employees.

What do you think are the pros and cons of the current system of anonymity?

Posted Feb 15, 2021, 5:38 PM UTC · edited

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my_research_account•

I believe that there are times and places for anonymous forums.

I believe there are times and places for non-anonymous forums.

I do not believe that, as a society, we have really gotten the hang of how to behave in either one on the internet just yet. We probably just need more time.

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jub-jub-birdConservative•

It has it's pros and cons.

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LaniekeaCenter-right•

Yes it should continue. If for no other reason than to prevent stalkers. It allows people to engage with people outside their immediate bubble without putting themselves at risk.

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FanfareForTheBraveConstitutionalist•

I think anonymity is integral to the preservation of free speech. But that aside, I need to address something.

Right now there is very little that ties your online persona to your real life offline.

This is a common misconception. Nobody is truly anonymous on the internet. Just because you can make a bunch of random accounts and come up with various names doesn't mean people can't identify you. If someone is determined to find out who you are on Reddit for example, it's not a matter of If, but When.

If you want to truly be anonymous, you need to throw all of your electronics in a dumpster and go off into the woods.

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[deleted]•

Just because you can make a bunch of random accounts and come up with various names doesn't mean people can't identify you.

I don't mean to say that it is impossible to identify anonymous people on the internet. Only that the identity is not public and freely available.

If the FBI is able coax Reddit admins to hand over connection logs that show ip addresses and MACs associated with an account, then of course it could eventually be traced back to a person offline. But it's not like anyone wandering into the site can get that kind of information to make those connections on their own.

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FanfareForTheBraveConstitutionalist•

Regular people can and do ask admins for that information. How do you think people on Reddit get doxed in the first place?

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nemo_sumAmericanist•

Personally I'd be in favor of more IRL anonymity - part of why I hope mask-weating sticks around.

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astroboy37Conservative•

Anonymity is of course our greatest tool. It has its downsides of course but we are far better with it than we would be without it. Having to always be "on" in the public sense would get draining fast

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[deleted]•

[deleted]

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SuspenderEnderRight Libertarian•

Like everything, it's a trade off, but the negatives seem much more apparent than the positives.

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[deleted]•

[deleted]

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