Online Anonymity

Some people react negatively to the idea of anonymity and its effects for online culture. There are at least a couple of reasons for this. One reason has to do with the idea that some will get online with their fake accounts and just go out trolling, which does happen, and they never have to pay for the trouble they cause. The other reason is that some people feel that if you believe in what you are saying, you should have the courage to sign your name to it. And both of these reasons have some merit.

On the other hand, some people will take offense to what you say and take real action against you. Sometimes it is fairly innocuous, just troll you for a bit and they forget about it. Then some will actually try to get you fired from your job, and even the best and most loyal employers have their limits, soon enough you will be too much trouble to keep you on. They've got actual business to attend to, so they don't want to spend all of their time reading hate mail about you. Maybe the company's public image is at stake, and of course they will take action at that point. The worst cases are when people you offend start campaigns to get you beat up, raped, or even killed. And obviously the instigators of these campaigns are not as guilty as those who actually pull the trigger. But there is a potential danger to be mindful of.

So do people have the right to feel offended? Of course. But do they have the right to not be offended? I think not. We as a society still have to work out the details of what would constitute hate speech if it actually were to be made illegal. Being offended at this point is so arbitrary. It could be anything. We can't always know what people will take offense to. Sometimes you do, and usually people of conscience will refrain on their own from saying needless things. Yet other times the offense really does need to be made in order to protect freedom of speech, and effectively freedom of thought. We should have the right to publicly critique bad ideas. And when somebody hides their bad ideas behind political correctness policies, offense does need to be given.
So protect yourself. Sooner or later you will say something that will offend someone, and it's better to take a few steps to avoid some of that if you can. Besides, if you believe that no one knows who you are, there is no reason not to tell the truth.

(for now we won't think about the fact that there is no such thing as real anonymity online)