I thought this might interest people... eWorld's "policy" on anonymity... *************************************** Date: Sat, May 28, 1994 5:52 AM EST From: eWorldAlert@eworld.com Subj: About Member Profiles. To: Pierre Dear eWorld Beta Tester, The recent eWorld host software upgrade rebuilt Member Profiles using the name you entered during registration. If you do not want your complete name reflected in the Member Profile you can change it. We ask that you enter at least your first initial and true last name. You can edit this field for the next couple of weeks, after which you can no longer change it. We want eWorld members to have real identities to encourage responsible online behavior. In the near future the eWorld Member Name in the Member Profile of newly-registered people will automatically reflect the name provided during registration and will not be editable. During registration members will choose between listing first & last name or first initial & last name in the Member Profile. This prevents people from using anonymous member names in eWorld, such as Your Worstnightmare. It also allows members to have impersonal identities in eWorld if they are concerned about harassment. Someone asks, "What if I have an uncommon last name, live in a small community and express an unpopular viewpoint in a discussion where tempers are high? Someone can use my Member Name and Location information to find my phone number (or even my address) and harass me!" Those with unusual last names have two options. The first is to change the community name from a city or town to a geographical region, or even to change the geographic reference to Somewhere Else. The second is to call the eWorld Assistance Center at 1-800-775-4556, explain the problem and ask for an altered Member Name. You don't need to do that now, though -- at this point you can change it yourself. We don't want anyone getting beat up or harassed because of membership in eWorld. But we do want to *substantially* reduce the amount of anonymity and consequent irresponsible behavior possible with the present registration system.