Global InformationNymwars information
Nymwars is a name given to series of conflicts over policies that mandate all users of certain internet communications platforms identify themselves using their legal names. The term is mostly associated with Google's name policies on Google+ and YouTube. Nymwars is a blend word composed from (pseudo)nym and wars. The name appears to have gained prominence as the hashtag "#nymwars" on Twitter.
Conflicts regarding Google+ began in July 2011 when the social networking site began enforcing its real-name-only policy by suspending the accounts of users it felt were not following the policy.[1] Pseudonyms, nicknames, and non-standard real names (for example, mononyms or names that include scripts from multiple languages) were suspended. The issue was settled in July 2014 when Google announced that it was ending its real-name-only policy.[2]
A predecessor to the Google+ conflict was Blizzard's RealID which, starting in July 2010, exposes the name on the player's credit card, and is mandatory to use some game features (cross-game chat) and was nearly made mandatory to post on discussion forums.[3][4][5]
These issues have existed since the beginning of online identity, and are related to the alleged online disinhibition effect. The resulting discussions have raised many issues regarding naming, cultural sensitivity, public and private identity, privacy, and the role of social media in modern discourse. The debate has been covered widely in the press including Wired,[6] The Atlantic,[7] and The New York Times.[8]
- ^ Boyd, Danah (2012), "The politics of "real names"", Communications of the ACM, 55 (8): 29–31, doi:10.1145/2240236.2240247, S2CID 10887087.
- ^ Blue, Violet (15 July 2014). "Google reverses 'real names' policy, apologizes". ZDNet.
- ^ "Battle.net - English Forums -> Battle.net Update: Upcoming Changes to Forums". Archived from the original on 9 July 2010. Retrieved 1 April 2014.
- ^ Adam Holisky (6 July 2010). "Official forum changes, real life names to be displayed". Wow Insider (Joystiq). Archived from the original on 9 September 2013. Retrieved 17 September 2013.
- ^ Newman, Jared (9 July 2010). "Four Lessons From Blizzard's Real ID Snafu". Technologizer. Retrieved 27 September 2012.
- ^ Tim Carmody (26 July 2011). "Google+ Identity Crisis: What's at Stake With Real Names and Privacy". Epicenter. Wired.com. Retrieved 27 August 2011.
- ^ Alexis Madrigal (5 August 2011). "Why Facebook and Google's Concept of 'Real Names' Is Revolutionary". The Atlantic. Retrieved 27 August 2011.
- ^ Pfanner, Eric (4 September 2011), "Naming Names on the Internet", The New York Times.