To the extent that you can change it at will without effort, yes it is. | Hacker News

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lutorm on July 25, 2011 | parent | context | favorite | on: Why Google cares if you use your real name

To the extent that you can change it at will without effort, yes it is.

Astrohacker on July 25, 2011 [–]

What does that matter? If people know you by your screen name, that's a real name. Legal names are just nick names that are recorded by the government.

lutorm on July 25, 2011 | [–]

It matters because if people can change names at will, they are effectively anonymous. And anonymity can bring out the worst in people.

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