When I started my BBS in 1991, Operation Sundevil [1] was fresh in our   
   minds, home computers were a rarity and the internet didn't exist as the   
   repository of information that it is now.   
      
   We felt strongly that information should be free, that people had a right   
   to learn, understand, and know, and that actions should be regulated, not   
   information. My BBS belonged to a network that shared this philosophy.   
      
   Anonymity was an important part of my network. We made a point of removing   
   new user questionnaires and callback verifiers, allowing full access on the   
   first call, and minimizing activity logs. We wanted to separate BBS and   
   network activity from the RealWorld for legal and ideological reasons.[2]   
      
   Anonymity didn't create management issues. We allowed the networks and the   
   users to manage themselves.[3]   
      
   Our network gained a reputation as a clearing-house for information, even   
   attracting some sensationalist "evil hacker" writeups in the local   
   media[4] and the National Enquirer[5]. While the attention was startling at   
   first, it turned into a rallying point and a learning experience for all.   
      
   Fast forward to 2011; we have a pervasive internet, search engines that   
   aggregate personal and reference information at our fingertips. Online   
   presences have shifted - before, people who mostly didn't know each other   
   in the RealWorld got together in cyberspace to discuss common topic. Now   
   people communicate mostly with people that have some RealWorld connection -   
   think Facebook's friends list and FOAF social networks.   
      
   There's no real anonymity when you're friended. Maybe there's no point in   
   handles any more?   
      
   Having both real names and handles may be overkill. Maybe I should change   
   the new user process to ask for "A Real Name" and leave it at that.   
      
   I've been Poindexter FORTRAN over 20 years. People in the RealWorld know me   
   as Poindexter. I've had people yell "hey, Poindexter" across the street at   
   me - much to the confusion of people I was with who weren't part of the   
   scene.   
      
   As connected as I am to poindexter FORTRAN, I may set my account to post   
   using my real name only, change my new user questionnaire to ask   
   for "a real name" and see how I feel after a month.   
      
   Cheers,   
      
   --kW   
      
      
   [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Sundevil   
   [2] ftp://realitycheckbbs.org/main/NN/nirvana.txt   
   [3] ftp://realitycheckbbs.org/main/NN/NNSTUFF.TXT   
   [4] ftp://realitycheckbbs.org/main/NN/CCTIMES.TXT   
   [5] http://www.urigeller.com/hottoast/hot-toast.htm   
      
      
      
      
       
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