I always thought the shield of anonymity simply meant that people are less likely to act with civility, and it’s also, therefore, harder to see users as human beings, and not just usernames with words attached. Combined with things like, people who talk shit online would probably get smacked if they said the same stuff in the meatspace… like, there’s that freedom to be rude and to push the bounds of what’s socially acceptable, because there’s no discernible repercussions.
Unfortunately the “oh if only we had less anonymity” thing is extremely over-estimated as being a useful factor. Things like real name policies are actually a significant vector of abuse and harassment in themselves - from anti-trans attacks and bombarding to the extremes of Swatting. Even something like a fixed nickname(/gender) policy (see current PSN implementation) have real negative consequences.
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I’d never advocate for removing anonymity. Sorry, I know the question asks “how do we fix it?” but that wasn’t what I was aiming for. I mean, like, the only reason I can represent right now as the gender I feel belongs to me is because I’m anonymous right here and now.
Perhaps the bigger problem is anonymity of congregation, as apposed to individual anonymity? But even then, it’s not something I would want to see fixed.
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