Anonymity Is a Problem and an American Tradition
Found on eWEEK on Sunday, 21 December 2008
It didn't take long for anonymity on the Internet to become a contentious issue, and for good reason. Anonymity is problematic.
The founding fathers were serial anonymists. They wrote constantly for public consumption under pseudonyms, I suspect because personal attack in public debate was an even greater problem then than it is now.
Abusive people often hide behind anonymity to intrude on the privacy and rights of others, so services often need to insist in real identities.
Being a journalist, he should be aware of the need for anonymity. But no, bash it. Anonymity made the Internet what it is: a place where you can easily say what you think; unlike in real life, where you might decide not to speak up against your boss or the current political situation. If the author prefers to avoid anonymity he should go to China and fight for democracy. Just don't use your real personal information as long as you can avoid it; and if it is just to make it harder for advertisers to shove targeted ads down your throat.