Google Finally Dumps Its Ill-Advised Real Names Policy

 Three years ago, we criticized Google for going down the same mistaken path as other social networks with a "real names" policy for its Google+ system. We pointed out how Friendster had made this mistake in 2003 and Facebook had also similarly focused on such policies in 2007 (through today), without recognizing the importance of enabling anonymity and pseudonymity. While some people insist that "real names" guarantees a higher level of conversation and/or participation, there is little evidence to support that. We've long seen on our own site that many of the most useful and insightful comments come from anonymous users. And people using their real names will often say some really dumb things.

While it's easy for some people to insist that there's no big deal here, the stories of people negatively impacted by such a policy were very moving. Stories about people who had been abused or stalked, fearing being re-discovered by their tormenters. Stories of transgender people who had not "come out" to co-workers, but were "forced" to. Stories of people trying to hide from death threats. These were not minor issues. Google adjusted its policy somewhat, but not entirely.