I would not recommend real-name verification to private citizens. You can never know if your circumstances change, e.g. somebody starts stalking you for some reason. Even if you have "nothing to hide", this can be dangerous.
Public figures will already be running their own homepage or have an organization's homepage at their disposal, where things like Mastodon's current verification system with the link rel="me" work just fine.
@pinkyfloyd @AlisonW @MetalSamurai@mas.to @fediversenews @metalsamurai@venera.social
i'm suggesting it could be an option for those who choose to use that as verification, for celebs, people who are already in the public eye, or users. that simply don't mind having their real name out there.
maybe someday i wakeup and want to filter posts by people that are verified in such a manner, maybe i only want to talk to those who are anon. but why not have it as an option and see how it goes?
you've only seen it tried by for-profit corporations.
This sounds OK, as long as it does not become an obligation, and the people in dire need of anonymity are left out in the cold without protection, as what is happening everywhere with regard to vulnerable groups and #Covid in most countries.
@AlisonW @MetalSamurai@mas.to @gunchleoc @fediversenews @metalsamurai@venera.social
all i'm doing is talking about different features of a proposed new way for users to take advantage of what the fediverse/AP has to offer.
because it's a new "system" of sorts, everything is up in the air rn.
rn i see at least five ways for a user to prove accountability:
1) ID verification (one-time charge, $2);
2) paid-level subscription to the service;
3) TXT record in DNS of a domain would attach a user to a domain;
4) Staking a certain amount of fiat or platform earnings;
5) Mastodon-style link rel="me".
i'm sure there are more ways. i imagine users could use any combination of factors that work for them, users could filter by their own personal requirements.
instant moderation.
Allowing only verified accounts would probably help with fighting spam, but I don't think that it will help with accountability. There are people who are perfectly happy to deliberately spread misinformation for their own gain, under their real names. Supporting one's statements with links to sources is a much better form of proving honesty. Accountability must be more than just whether a public figure said it.
@pinkyfloyd @AlisonW @MetalSamurai@mas.to @HistoPol @fediversenews @metalsamurai@venera.social
I would be cautious about using verification as a moderation tool, because it raises the barrier for those who cannot afford the verification process. $2 doesn't see like a lot to us, but for some people it might mean the difference between eating a meal or not.
That being said, I think it's perfectly fine to explore the potential options here.
@pinkyfloyd @AlisonW @MetalSamurai@mas.to @HistoPol @fediversenews @metalsamurai@venera.social
One thing that definitely still makes me uncomfortable about any real names policy is that people might use their real names out of peer pressure. There is always a societal consequence to the technology we build.
So, verification in this sense should absolutely also be available for pseudonyms.
@pinkyfloyd @AlisonW @MetalSamurai@mas.to @HistoPol @fediversenews @metalsamurai@venera.social
@gunchleoc @pinkyfloyd @AlisonW @MetalSamurai@mas.to @HistoPol @fediversenews @metalsamurai@venera.social If you're not using your real name, then you don't need verification. Why are you pretending otherwise?
@DanaBlankenhorn @gunchleoc @pinkyfloyd @AlisonW @HistoPol @fediversenews @metalsamurai@venera.social This is silly. Plenty of pseudonymous people need protection from impersonators. SwiftOnSecurity, TheSecretBarrister, (historically) JackOfKent are all trusted and need to show they are the same person in different domains (published books, blogs, social media). Using Gov ID would not work (or be advisable).
@MetalSamurai @DanaBlankenhorn @gunchleoc @pinkyfloyd @AlisonW @HistoPol @fediversenews @metalsamurai
What, you mean there’s no birth certificate with PopeHat on it?
@AmberWavesofFlame @MetalSamurai@mas.to @DanaBlankenhorn @gunchleoc @pinkyfloyd @AlisonW @fediversenews @metalsamurai@venera.social lol