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I always wonder during those discussions - what exactly is a "real" name supposed to be? I don't have "real" name. Rather, I have many chosen names, and a nam

I always wonder during those discussions - what exactly is a "real" name supposed to be? I don't have "real" name. Rather, I have many chosen names, and a name my parents gave me. I consider all of these names real, as they refer to a facet of my personality, a part of me. I do have a legal name - my birth name. It's but one of many. Why is my legal name important? It isn't. I don't even consider it my primary name. The concept of one single "real" name is severely retarded and flies in the face of reality. We need to get rid of this concept, along with the illusion of a single identity. I simply am not the same person when I am with my parents, when I'm with my meatspace friends, or if I'm hanging out on IRC with people I know pretty well, but have never seen or met. I'm someone different here on HN than I am on 4chan, or any other message board. That's perfectly human, and no company or law will ever change that.

debacle 14y ago
> Why is my legal name important? It isn't. I don't even consider it my primary name. The concept of one single "real" name is severely retarded and flies in the face of reality. We need to get rid of this... No, sorry. No. Your legal name is important. If you ever get incarcerated, your legal name will be on the docket. If you have a license or passport, your legal name will be on it. Your taxes have your legal name, as well as any other government certificates you may ever have.
- brown 14y ago
  If we're talking about legal purposes, then names are a pretty poor primary key. In such situations, SSN or other UUID would be superior. For any recreational/social purpose, what's the point of requiring legal name? How many "John Smith"s are there in the world?
  - skreech 14y ago
    The SSN is technically a NUID, not an UUID. So legal names are more important in international context (an Indian SSN doesn't mean anything in the US, for example). But yeah, assigning GUIDs to everyone born in the world, like as "a93sz0sz" would allow uniqueness for thousands of years.
    - brazzy 14y ago
      Yet somehow, I doubt many people would appreciate that kind of uniqueness...
    - malandrew 14y ago
      Actually legal names are a problem even within the US. I recently had problems with getting a California driver's license because my second middle name was abbreviated on my green card, but spelled out fully on my North Carolina driver's license, which I was transferring to California.
- jeltz 14y ago
  Yes, it will be in all these places. But in for example Sweden that is more of a convenience rather than of any actual significance. What is really used is your national identity number. I virtually never write my entire name in forms. I bet I could use a pseudonym or fake name and nobody would care as long as the identity number is there. The only exception is passports where my legal name is important.
- slowpoke 14y ago
  Your examples only make a legal name important if you consider these things important. I don't, and they aren't. Part of why we need to get rid of the concept of a legal name is exactly for this reason. A government has no business and no authority to decide who I am.
  - moheeb 14y ago
    They don't decide who you are...you tell them.
    - jlgreco 14y ago
      More accurately, you have the option to tell them. In most cases somebody already told them on your behalf.
  - chc 14y ago
    You are not your name. The fact that you have an official name does not mean the government is "deciding who you are." And beyond that, in most places, you can choose which name is your official one if you care that much about it. I do not understand what your beef is here. If you don't think that Facebook should require your official name, I get that. But trying to deny that people generally have one seems odd.
- noarchy 14y ago
  Government tracking methods and Facebook are two different worlds, though, aren't they? (I know I left the door wide open for a sarcastic reply)
  - marshray 14y ago
    No. There are, in fact, ongoing discussions in the US about Facebook being used for authentication at banking and government sites.
- jlgreco 14y ago
  You mean your legal name is used in legal scenarios? Say it isn't so... Guess what, my "street name" is used in "street" scenarios, my "immediate and extended family name" is used by my immediate and extended family (not my legal name btw, nor has it ever been). What makes the legal name special in any regard? They are all used in their niche.
- rmc 14y ago
  But which legal name? I (along with everyone in this country) have 2.
timdiggerm 14y ago
No, you're you. You're just presenting different facets (whether conscious or not) of you.
anigbrowl 14y ago
The concept of one single "real" name is severely retarded and flies in the face of reality. We need to get rid of this concept, along with the illusion of a single identity. Skkkkrrrrriiiiittttcccchhh No, most of us are pretty happy with it because it works. OK, so you feel restricted by it, but you don't get to make the call on what people 'need' to do. These philosophical excursions are entertaining, but the fact is that your legal name is important because it enables the relationship between you and the complex society you inhabit. Money's an abstraction, but one which justifies itself daily by allowing people to buy and sell conveniently. Your legal name serves a similar function.
- marshray 14y ago
  Prove it. Reply here with a link to a scan of your State-issued Driver's License and national passport proving that your legal name is, in fact, "anigbrowl" in the next 24 hours or your account will be deleted and you personally (i.e., your legal identity) will be perma-banned from this service. (Not really, I don't admin HN at all. But you won't do it either.)
  - chc 14y ago
    I don't believe you're really responding to what Anig said. He didn't say that you weren't allowed to ever be called anything but your real name; he just said that your legal name does have some special status in society. Similarly, I was recently informed that it was my Twitter birthday. It was not the same as my legal birthday. This does not, however, deprive my legal birthday its significance.
    - marshray 14y ago
      I interpreted slowpoke to be arguing that the single identity theory was oversimplistic and illusory, a position with which I agree. anigbrowl then came in with his "Skkkkrrrrriiiiittttcccchhh No, most of us are pretty happy with it because it works" remarks, which I felt was rather flippant. My response was meant to show anigbrowl the logical conclusion of his position. It's not an unrealistic possibility either, I believe it's been at times the official policy of Facebook, Google Plus, Blizzard, and S. Korea. My point is that, no, a single identity doesn't work and really it never did. We all use many different context-dependent identities as we interact in life.

debacle 14y ago

> Why is my legal name important? It isn't. I don't even consider it my primary name. The concept of one single "real" name is severely retarded and flies in the face of reality. We need to get rid of this... No, sorry. No. Your legal name is important. If you ever get incarcerated, your legal name will be on the docket. If you have a license or passport, your legal name will be on it. Your taxes have your legal name, as well as any other government certificates you may ever have.

brown 14y ago
If we're talking about legal purposes, then names are a pretty poor primary key. In such situations, SSN or other UUID would be superior. For any recreational/social purpose, what's the point of requiring legal name? How many "John Smith"s are there in the world?
- skreech 14y ago
  The SSN is technically a NUID, not an UUID. So legal names are more important in international context (an Indian SSN doesn't mean anything in the US, for example). But yeah, assigning GUIDs to everyone born in the world, like as "a93sz0sz" would allow uniqueness for thousands of years.
  - brazzy 14y ago
    Yet somehow, I doubt many people would appreciate that kind of uniqueness...
  - malandrew 14y ago
    Actually legal names are a problem even within the US. I recently had problems with getting a California driver's license because my second middle name was abbreviated on my green card, but spelled out fully on my North Carolina driver's license, which I was transferring to California.
jeltz 14y ago
Yes, it will be in all these places. But in for example Sweden that is more of a convenience rather than of any actual significance. What is really used is your national identity number. I virtually never write my entire name in forms. I bet I could use a pseudonym or fake name and nobody would care as long as the identity number is there. The only exception is passports where my legal name is important.
slowpoke 14y ago
Your examples only make a legal name important if you consider these things important. I don't, and they aren't. Part of why we need to get rid of the concept of a legal name is exactly for this reason. A government has no business and no authority to decide who I am.
- moheeb 14y ago
  They don't decide who you are...you tell them.
  - jlgreco 14y ago
    More accurately, you have the option to tell them. In most cases somebody already told them on your behalf.
- chc 14y ago
  You are not your name. The fact that you have an official name does not mean the government is "deciding who you are." And beyond that, in most places, you can choose which name is your official one if you care that much about it. I do not understand what your beef is here. If you don't think that Facebook should require your official name, I get that. But trying to deny that people generally have one seems odd.
noarchy 14y ago
Government tracking methods and Facebook are two different worlds, though, aren't they? (I know I left the door wide open for a sarcastic reply)
- marshray 14y ago
  No. There are, in fact, ongoing discussions in the US about Facebook being used for authentication at banking and government sites.
jlgreco 14y ago
You mean your legal name is used in legal scenarios? Say it isn't so... Guess what, my "street name" is used in "street" scenarios, my "immediate and extended family name" is used by my immediate and extended family (not my legal name btw, nor has it ever been). What makes the legal name special in any regard? They are all used in their niche.
rmc 14y ago
But which legal name? I (along with everyone in this country) have 2.

timdiggerm 14y ago

No, you're you. You're just presenting different facets (whether conscious or not) of you.

anigbrowl 14y ago

The concept of one single "real" name is severely retarded and flies in the face of reality. We need to get rid of this concept, along with the illusion of a single identity. Skkkkrrrrriiiiittttcccchhh No, most of us are pretty happy with it because it works. OK, so you feel restricted by it, but you don't get to make the call on what people 'need' to do. These philosophical excursions are entertaining, but the fact is that your legal name is important because it enables the relationship between you and the complex society you inhabit. Money's an abstraction, but one which justifies itself daily by allowing people to buy and sell conveniently. Your legal name serves a similar function.

marshray 14y ago
Prove it. Reply here with a link to a scan of your State-issued Driver's License and national passport proving that your legal name is, in fact, "anigbrowl" in the next 24 hours or your account will be deleted and you personally (i.e., your legal identity) will be perma-banned from this service. (Not really, I don't admin HN at all. But you won't do it either.)
- chc 14y ago
  I don't believe you're really responding to what Anig said. He didn't say that you weren't allowed to ever be called anything but your real name; he just said that your legal name does have some special status in society. Similarly, I was recently informed that it was my Twitter birthday. It was not the same as my legal birthday. This does not, however, deprive my legal birthday its significance.
  - marshray 14y ago
    I interpreted slowpoke to be arguing that the single identity theory was oversimplistic and illusory, a position with which I agree. anigbrowl then came in with his "Skkkkrrrrriiiiittttcccchhh No, most of us are pretty happy with it because it works" remarks, which I felt was rather flippant. My response was meant to show anigbrowl the logical conclusion of his position. It's not an unrealistic possibility either, I believe it's been at times the official policy of Facebook, Google Plus, Blizzard, and S. Korea. My point is that, no, a single identity doesn't work and really it never did. We all use many different context-dependent identities as we interact in life.