netmeg - 7:55 pm on Aug 30, 2011 (gmt 0)

Because some people have good reason to want to stay anonymous. I myself have had to take out no fewer than THREE personal protection orders over the years because of being stalked (or threatened) over the internet (and I'm not particularly anonymous, except for photos). Other people have legitimate fears of political persecution or what the heck, they just wanna say what they have to say without having to put a name on it. My 80 yr old mother occasionally wants to make a comment on some news site or another, and she doesn't particularly WANT an online identity pigeonholing her or following her around with ads for giant glazed donuts or whatever it is. Her ideal goal is to completely stay out of Google - and so far, she has, without having to be completely silent.

There is very little accountability on the internet even WITH real names. Nobody who's not sitting here with me right this moment can swear that I'm the one who is typing this. And that anonymous thing seems to work out pretty well here on WebmasterWorld too, now doesn't it?

Google can do what they like with their web properties. But if they don't find a way to deal with the creepy uncle thing, they're going to be doing it with increasingly fewer people. I sure don't have anyone pestering me for Google+ invites anymore.