Anonymity and Online Community: Identity Matters

**Cyber Cop** · 05-03-2006, 09:16 AM

Excerpted, is that a word? from the following article, worth a read.
http://alistapart.com/articles/identitymatters

Anonymity Can Wreak Havoc in a Community

Anonymity is a double-edged sword when it comes to an online community. While anonymity may allow people to feel more free and disinhibited to discuss otherwise embarrassing or stigmatizing topics, it can also be a community’s biggest enemy. Anonymity allows people to hide behind their computers while saying whatever they want with little ramification. Psychologists know that online community is far more disinhibited than face-to-face communications.1, 2, 3 Pair that disinhibition with anonymity and you have a recipe for potential disaster.

Some websites have discovered fairly innovative ways to allow for anonymity, but still filter out the disinhibited negative behaviors that often come with it. Slashdot, an old technology community weblog, has long had a moderation system that allows registered users to vote on the quality of comments in an article. So even if a user chooses to post something anonymously (for whatever reasons), that comment may still be considered of sufficient quality to be read by others.

Pseudonymity—anonymity that hides a person behind an online persona via a username—is common online. Many internet users have a number of different identities they use online, to allow them to explore different aspects of their persona, interests or hobbies. But pseudonymity is also the key to membership systems as well, as it allows members of the community to learn to identify other members they like or dislike based upon their behaviors and personality. Pseudononymous systems strike a balance between people’s needs to obscure their identities online, while still allowing them to build reputations in those usernames. These systems have been shown to work very well for an online community.

People build reputations in their usernames, and so their reputation becomes something they value and want to protect. Members who have an investment in something within your community are far less likely to blow that investment through inappropriate, negative behavior.

No irony intended.

What's my point? What's your fucking point asshat?

**MassLiberal** · 05-03-2006, 09:18 AM

Could yo imagine what would happen if we allowed each other to rate each others comments?

**snowsprite** · 05-03-2006, 09:25 AM

We'd have visual confirmation of what we already know!

Sprite

**Cyber Cop** · 05-03-2006, 09:25 AM

Originally Posted by MassLiberal

Could yo imagine what would happen if we allowed each other to rate each others comments?

What would be cool is like a poop button. Each time someone hates a reply you get to punch a poop button and the comment window of the post slowly fills up with poop till it can't be read. Of coarse there would have to be a clean up poop button for people that like to read poop.

**fez** · 05-03-2006, 11:12 AM

Originally Posted by MassLiberal

Could yo imagine what would happen if we allowed each other to rate each others comments?

you mean besides the 'rate this thread' button at the top of each thread?

**summit** · 05-03-2006, 11:16 AM

this was boring and i didn't learn anything

**Cyber Cop** · 05-03-2006, 11:32 AM

^^^ shut up and take your ridalin.

**MassLiberal** · 05-03-2006, 11:44 AM

Originally Posted by fez

you mean besides the 'rate this thread' button at the top of each thread?

okay okay, I admit, stupid post.

**Cyber Cop** · 05-03-2006, 11:51 AM

^^^ It's not about thread rating, it's about community moderation of each reply comment. check out digg for an example. Like slashdot, instead of deleting posts the user can set their tolerence level and all comments below that level will not show, sorta like advanced ignore funtion.

**Andy_B** · 05-03-2006, 11:53 AM

They have something like this on ridemonkey.com. It allows user's to rate other users based on there post's. Good or bad with comments. Over here, we could have a field day with it.

**Jer** · 05-03-2006, 12:06 PM

I thought anonymity was the problem, not the inability to poop on other people's postings ... wait, you can already do that.

**crashnburn'd** · 05-03-2006, 12:06 PM

The powmag board had some rating system, if I remember right.

**Dirty Hoar** · 05-03-2006, 12:42 PM

Boy, times sure have changed. Remember the old days when you could just hide behind a blade of grass held up to your face?

FYI - I have information from a reliable source that CyberCop is really Fabio.

**P_McPoser** · 05-03-2006, 12:53 PM

Originally Posted by Cyber Cop

What would be cool is like a poop button. Each time someone hates a reply you get to punch a poop button and the comment window of the post slowly fills up with poop till it can't be read. Of coarse there would have to be a clean up poop button for people that like to read poop.

now that made me laugh good.

**Blatant** · 05-03-2006, 12:55 PM

the beauty of this place is that oddly enough it self moderates...

**Cyber Cop** · 05-03-2006, 02:59 PM

Originally Posted by flabango

FYI - I have information from a reliable source that CyberCop is really Fabio.

Now if that were true I wouldn't have to troll the internet for chics and send them bretts photo when they ask for pics.

I do have big pecs though.

**Danno** · 05-03-2006, 03:29 PM

Moobs!!!!

**RootSkier** · 05-03-2006, 04:12 PM

I prefer threads filled with cunting to threads filled with pooping. FWIW.

**72Twenty** · 05-03-2006, 04:20 PM

Speaking of anonymity... I just left a real stinky fart lingering over by the desk of one of the sales people litterally a minute before she walked in. I could tell when she got to her desk that she was trying to ignore it, and one of the other sales people thought it was her and kept glancing over at her in disgust.

That is what you call in inter-office fly-by.

**Danno** · 05-03-2006, 04:40 PM

I think it's interesting how some people prefer to have one identity across connected communities (say, here and TTips), while others choose to hide the connections of identity, they have different names in the 2 places and don't necessarily want people to ID them from one place to the other. Note: I'm really not making any value judgment on that, I just find it interesting.

**Cyber Cop** · 05-03-2006, 04:42 PM

Originally Posted by 72Twenty

Speaking of anonymity... I just left a real stinky fart lingering over by the desk of one of the sales people litterally a minute before she walked in. I could tell when she got to her desk that she was trying to ignore it, and one of the other sales people thought it was her and kept glancing over at her in disgust.

That is what you call in inter-office fly-by.

oh god, my gut hurts....

someday the interweb will have a fart button. Max better start a poll to find out the ethics of using the interweb fly-by.

**Dirty Hoar** · 05-03-2006, 04:47 PM

Originally Posted by Cyber Cop

Now if that were true I wouldn't have to troll the internet for chics and send them bretts photo when they ask for pics.

I do have big pecs though.

Ya right Fabio... we all know you've burned your bridges to Pussyville and ran out of conditioner. You're desperate, admit it! Three words... husky latin women.

**rideit** · 05-03-2006, 04:47 PM

Originally Posted by Andy_B

They have something like this on ridemonkey.com. It allows user's to rate other users based on there post's. Good or bad with comments. Over here, we could have a field day with it.

So, does Loco suck, or not? I am confused....