_________ Fediverse platforms should use a real names policy.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Real-nam…

#EvanPoll #poll

  • All (0%, 5 votes)
  • Most (1%, 10 votes)
  • Few (29%, 159 votes)
  • None (67%, 358 votes)
532 voters. Poll end: Friday, August 22, 2025, 4:55 PM

in reply to Evan Prodromou 🇨🇦🇺🇸🇬🇷🇵🇸

I reject any call for mandatory real-name policies on any internet platform. Private associations? sure. Government? of course.

I understand and acknowledge the challenges in moderation/enforcement vs evildoers without them; It does helps minimize casual asshats. But the real evil ones, spewing horrific content or hate - they're motivated to find ways around it anyways.

Motivated LEO can find you now despite not knowing your real name. All RNPs do is cut out one of x bench warrants.

in reply to Evan Prodromou 🇨🇦🇺🇸🇬🇷🇵🇸

a work setting is vastly different than a social network, especially one where there’s no barrier to someone setting up a server of their own and becoming their own “authority”. Consider how that might play out: server A has a real name policy and validates IDs, server B has a real name policy and doesn’t. How many people would know the difference? Would they believe the validity of either is equal? What difference would it make to the rest of the Fedi that doesn’t have a policy?
in reply to Evan Prodromou 🇨🇦🇺🇸🇬🇷🇵🇸

@matt The Fediverse is a global coalition of independent, interoperable social networks. There are a lot of social networks that are not yet connected; I think regulation and market pressures will get them to connect over time.
in reply to Evan Prodromou 🇨🇦🇺🇸🇬🇷🇵🇸

There's a few cases -- few of which exist right now -- that would benefit: an instance for public figures, for instance, where the poster's identity is essential for countering misinformation.

Though most would benefit from a _known identity_ policy (one that accounts for aliases) rather than a _real name_.

in reply to Evan Prodromou 🇨🇦🇺🇸🇬🇷🇵🇸

how do you define "real". My name here has been my online moniker since at least 2003. I had another before this one (back in CompuServe days). Other than a specific instance where my legal name online is a matter of public record I have never used my legal name online for a variety of reasons. The most basic is that I grew up with an appreciation of privacy that that I believe in to this day. However I also consider my current moniker as "real" as my legal name.
in reply to Evan Prodromou 🇨🇦🇺🇸🇬🇷🇵🇸

I said few because I can see a few small exceptions to what I generally feel which is that requiring real names is a policy that specifically hurts marginalized folk the most and, as such, I am against them. Someone asked about this in a talk I was giving today and while I am often in favor of a *consistent* identity (just to avoid rampant sock puppet issues the likes of which plague Wikipedia) that doesn't have to include real names (whatever those are).
in reply to Evan Prodromou 🇨🇦🇺🇸🇬🇷🇵🇸

In the United States any name you choose to use is a legal name and thus your real name, so long as you don’t use it to commit fraud.

Also, I know people who have birth certificates, drivers licenses and passports all with different names and aren’t called any of them IRL.

Besides, the administrative databases that store such information would become major hacking targets.

Don’t store PII and you won’t have to defend it against hackers.

in reply to Evan Prodromou 🇨🇦🇺🇸🇬🇷🇵🇸

I've seen some small UK village council forums and in that kind of small, trusted community setting, I could see that being a decent policy.

That said, the forums I've seen are public to people outside the village (otherwise I wouldn't have seen them!) and I think that's a far worse idea.

in reply to Evan Prodromou 🇨🇦🇺🇸🇬🇷🇵🇸

@BathysphereHat the poll is over now. Nobody has to ask for permission to set up a Fediverse server. My employer, Open Earth Foundation, has a Mastodon server and we use our real names for profiles because it's for work. I don't know if it counts as a policy or just a norm.
in reply to Evan Prodromou 🇨🇦🇺🇸🇬🇷🇵🇸

Only on servers supporting an official government or institutional public-trust function. And governments absolutely should be running their own ActivityPub software--that is specialized for public information missions--instead of X or Twittter or whatever externally controlled trashfire social media they are currently wasting resources on.
in reply to Evan Prodromou 🇨🇦🇺🇸🇬🇷🇵🇸

A lot of conversations! I think these make a lot of sense for instances where there's natural real-world affinity, like for universities or companies. My employer org, Open Earth Foundation, has a Mastodon server for employees and we all use our real name.
in reply to Evan Prodromou 🇨🇦🇺🇸🇬🇷🇵🇸

I think we will always have anonymous and pseudonymous instances, so there's always going to be a mix. But which will be "most"? I'm hopeful that we get more companies and universities here, so I'm going to use some wish craft and say "most". Thanks for all the answers!
in reply to Evan Prodromou 🇨🇦🇺🇸🇬🇷🇵🇸

It might be fair to compare email servers and account. Are most email servers real-name or pseudonymous? Not sure, but my gut says real-name. Huge commercial services like Gmail and Outlook might have more total accounts, and many are pseudonymous? Not sure how the numbers add up.
This entry was edited (Friday, August 22, 2025, 11:48 PM)
Unknown parent

@mattl I think LinkedIn in is a likely candidate to join the Fediverse, and they have a real name policy.

linkedin.com/help/linkedin/ans…

I think Threads has a real name policy:

transparency.meta.com/policies…

Flipboard asks for your real name for login but you can use a pseudonym.

in reply to Evan Prodromou 🇨🇦🇺🇸🇬🇷🇵🇸

@nomdeb

Everyone knows me as idea...
I've used the name for long enough so that it's got me all over it and as I'm known, I keep the moniker in place.
Noone remembers my real name anyway.

AND, Idea is the voice I've developed over years; it has a life of it's own.

in reply to Evan Prodromou 🇨🇦🇺🇸🇬🇷🇵🇸

You start from a disingenuous premise. It is a lie that "real names" exist. Not calling it a "legal name" is shifty and two-faced, and grants false legitimacy to the surveillance state. How are they to ensure our legal name is real, if not to monitor us at all times to make sure we're always using it? Your enforcement would aid nobody except those who want to manipulate people through spying on them, who can easily do so if we're stopped from using the name (and identity) we want.

It's also disrespectful and hateful to use "a real names policy," because many people were forced to take a certain legal name by their terrible government and/or their terrible parents. If you yourself force people to use these "dead names" then you're somewhere between a bully and a supremist.

Other than that, knock yourself out if you want to use legal names! I think everyone should have one profile they use for public stuff, though I STILL think using the legal name is inadvisable, even if it's easy to connect to your profile.

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