Real name req. is a mistake

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21

as usual, I completely glossed over something important in these dense reads …

So, in fact, nothing is really different.

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There is nothing “out of control” for an admin to make a request to comply with the publicized CoC.

I advise that this is not going to be a platform for attempts at public shaming, no matter on what side of the issue you stand.

If you have comments to make about the CoC, I invite you to participate in the discussion with as much politeness as you can muster. In addition, I will add my personal opinion that your suggestion in a previous post to “just be nice” was a very good one.

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The full / real name requirement is the one thing in the CoC that stuck out to me as something that may not have the intended consequences. I understand the impetus behind the request - I’m just not certain that it will lead to the desired consequences, and I worry about unintended consequences.

William I appreciate that you relaxed the rules around this in response to this thread.

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I’ve removed my full name in protest until such time that I am either removed from this forum or the CoC is updated removing all such language related to anyone’s identity.

Thanks,
Dasa

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25

I still think that even mentioning full names is a mistake.

However, if you’re going to keep it in the CoC, I think it needs to be worded more clearly. You can’t say “we prefer that you follow this requirement”. It’s either a requirement or it’s not. Preference doesn’t apply to a requirement.

I tried to write up a proposal for a wording change, but I couldn’t find a way to word it that would’t still make me feel like I’m breaking a rule by not using a full name. “We prefer that you follow this suggestion” sounds like you’re talking to a mob boss. :grin: …which is why I think it just doesn’t need to be there.

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“Real names are preferred, but are in no way required to participate on this forum”

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27

“Full names” implying a mandatory first and last name isn’t a superior position to “real names.”

There are cultures where a single name is all that is ever used to refer to an individual, even in official government documentation.

Also, I strongly agree with NateFinch that using language like “we prefer” is confusing. Drop any reference to this altogether or simply make a descriptive rather than a prescriptive statement: “Many members of our community prefer to use their real names.”

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What’s the difference between requiring Full name vs Real name? Is it that now people should just go ahead and use fake names just so they don’t get their accounts closed by the admins?

I understand that the admins want to foster participation, etc, but rakyll, Andrew and Nate brought up a good points. We have someone who would feel a certain bias towards her if she had to use her full name, we have historical reports of good contributions from users not using full name (and we all know Andrew is all for a good CoC and being nice to people).

I hope you decide to remove the requirement/suggestion of a full/real name.

Thanks

29

I honestly think Elithrar has the wording nailed.

This topic feels like it’s beginning to spiral a bit. I would imagine that everyone can agree that:

  1. The “Real Name” requirement has good intentions
  2. Actually enforcing it is a huge burden, and will never be without consequence to certain individuals or groups of people
  3. The community as a whole will likely not agree on a solution to this 100%

I think the wording Elithrar provided captures the good intentions of the 1st point, and removes the problems associated with 2 and 3. It also doesn’t introduce an ambiguous “Full Name” vs “Real Name” distinction either.

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I also ask that the terms be updated to remove all references to full/real/whatever names. These requirements/preferences/whatever-you-wanna-call-em don’t help anyone, and they do have a well-documented history of harming the precise groups that a CoC ought to protect.

The argument that such a requirement leads to civil conversations via comparisons to twitter and facebook simply confuses correlation and causation.

31

Ok, that’s fair.

What’s the cause then?

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The cause is the lack of moderation and/or a third party who would like to resolve the conflicts between individuals productively.

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The stack exchange be nice CoC is sufficient in my view but it’s your community so whatever you think is best.

I’d rather not have people (like employers) Google my name and see me asking stupid questions on a programming forum.
I like a thin veil of anonymity, however fragile, so won’t be using my full name.

If that stops me participating, then that is a shame but, so be it.

34

We have changed the policy for the forum. A user brought up an important issue of how the forum will be indexing the content which does not happen in Slack. So for the forum, the full name policy has been removed. For Slack this policy is still in place. Thank you to everyone who participated in this conversation and helped to shape our opinions of this policy.

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Good outcome, I actually think the tone of the conversation was incredibly respectful for an Internet forum :smile:

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