I’m running from the Law … Oh wait this is my real name … Duh.
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A while back I took a brief look into what it might take to add verified profiles to Discourse, like the blue check mark on Twitter, Instagram, etc.
Maybe it’s worth looking into more? Online discussions get a lot healthier when folks use their name and photo – it’s a reminder that there’s a real person on the other side of your computer screen.
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Real photo? Now you’re going too far!
Oh, wait, that is me in my photo… Never mind.
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No thanks.
Cos I’m born on the bayou … almost.
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Alas unavailable in our land we have to make do with Beacon , I am sure they are Maynard under license 
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I have been using my real name in online forums for decades. I’ve come to realize this is unsafe, but this is too late for me.
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Two reasons, firstly because they always have done in the past and then stick with it all over the internet out of habit. Secondly because it is common to encounter the ‘that username is taken, choose something else’ when signing up.
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This is my real photo from my childhood days. I had to fight off ninjas everyday on my way back from school. Kids these days don’t realise how good they have it
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The main problem with one’s name is that it is the link between you, your private interests and your professional interests.
There are many cases when one needs to establish a clear barrier to separate them.
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I agree with the OP’s question. I always use my real name because I want to be responsible for what I say. Others obviously have different views, and who’s to challenge them?
Jim Heckman
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Cos I’m ugly and I want you guys to track my and find only my porcelain.
When computers first went multi-user, you had to have an account to use it. The account was a username and password. The username was a single word with no spaces. Thus the anonymous Internet was born. Facebook encourages real names, I prefer that.
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Why does it matter, as long as it meets community guidelines??
and don’t tell anyone, but I’m really Jimmy Hoffa
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Who says that we really exist and aren’t just a figment of your imagination?
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Thesis:
Social media would be a way better place w/o pseudonyms.
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When my great grandfather emigrated to Belgium, the clerk at the population office phonetically wrote down his family name. If he had taken down the Irish spelling, my name would have been Proinséas Donnabháin.
What pseudonym?
Gaelic grandmother so Hi Frank Donovan!
There may be exceptions, of course, but it seems that anonymity encourages bad behaviour!
It matters because many people see it as a licence for abusive speech!
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