Title says it all. We've all, at one point or another, seen, heard or even experienced stories of how people on the internet have been abusing one another for various reasons, from trying to put down those who have a differing opinion, to those who have some kind of prejudice or bigotry against another group, or even because of sheer childishness, or maybe a slew of other reasons.
I very much doubt that I'm the first to make this suggestion, and if this is a thread that's been done before, then I apologize in advance for it. But wouldn't it perhaps be a good step against such abu8ses if anonymity, the way people can do what they like on the internet without their identities revealed, was to simply not happen?
I'm sure many of you have had similar suspicions at times, that people only say and do such things over the internet because they can hide their identities, thus shielding them from being openly revealed as the kinds of people who commit these kinds of abusive acts. Now, I'm all in favour of anonymity if the people using the internet are, say, embarrassed about announcing an opinion they think might make people look down on them, but to use it so they can get away with spouting hurtful words, racism and every other kind of bile, is just abusing that right and making the internet a less welcoming place for those who want to use it properly.
So, I would like a general discussion on the idea of reduced, if not outright removed, anonymity from the internet in order to prevent abuses like this. No more avatars, no more usernames, just straight up "this is who I am and this is what I'm saying".
