eWorld & Anonymity

[Pierre at eworld.com]

I thought this might interest people... eWorld's "policy" on anonymity...

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Date:    Sat, May 28, 1994 5:52 AM EST
From:  eWorldAlert at 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.