Upending Anonymity, These Days the Web Unmasks Everyone

[groovedaddy]

Not too long ago, theorists fretted that the Internet was a place where anonymity thrived.

Now, it seems, it is the place where anonymity dies.

A commuter in the New York area who verbally tangled with a conductor last Tuesday — and defended herself by asking “Do you know what schools I’ve been to and how well-educated I am?” — was publicly identified after a fellow rider posted a cellphone video of the encounter on YouTube. The woman, who had gone to N.Y.U., was ridiculed by a cadre of bloggers, one of whom termed it the latest episode of “Name and Shame on the Web.”

Women who were online pen pals of former Representative Anthony D. Weiner similarly learned how quickly Internet users can sniff out all the details of a person’s online life. So did the men who set fire to cars and looted stores in the wake of Vancouver’s Stanley Cup defeat last week when they were identified, tagged by acquaintances online.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/21/us/21anonymity.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=tha23

[MineralMan]

1. So true. Anonymity is very hard to maintain on the Internet.

Screen names aren't much help, really, especially if they're used on multiple sites. In most cases, an hour or two of visiting websites will reveal who the person is. Some people are very careful not to use the same screenname on multiple sites, but an awful lot of people do. In fact, they often post on the same subjects in multiple places and eventually reveal who they are, either piecemeal or in posts they make.

I finally gave up trying to maintain anonymity. It's too much trouble.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

2. It is still available, it is just more work

The train episode had nothing to do with online persona...

Using different usernames, proxies and other tools can allow you to remain at least hard to identify