[nwzpaperman]

The anonymity issue is really two parts: 1) Is anonymity a right on a public piece of infrastructure? 2) Is it viable on a piece of public infrastructure?

In the case of part one, I cannot argue that anonymity on a piece of public infrastructure is a right, but I can argue it is a luxury that some will create and some will pay for.

In the case of two, with the scaled information systems we have today and the non-distributed connectivity infrastructure enabling the Internet today, anonymity is no longer viable even if part one was rightful.

When Oprah says people are dissatisfied with President Obama and his administration because he is black and offers that no one is saying it, but are certainly thinking it there are a few things to consider in this context. Should these phantom black-American haters she speaks of feel comfortable loudly proclaiming these things in, say, a busy Starbucks? Oprah's phantom black-American haters certainly have the legal protection to do so today, but why aren't they and to what degree is it or is it not a good thing they are not verbalizing these positions in public forums? Depending upon where you stand here, why should a public information exchange be any different?

Back to part two; I get it. The Internet has been a place that little people could make big statements about the government and powerful people without consequence. I don't believe that will ever go away, even if anonymity is further diminished. The internet isn't just a public forum, it is a public record and there is physical distance between parties. If anything, I think the technological diminishing of anonymity on public Internet forums is a good thing because it promotes coherent argument instead of trolling ad hominem.

Anonymity and privacy will always exist in the same form they have for centuries: in the non-public, non-digital world we know as the real world. People violate their own privacy right by doing stupid things on public Internet forums, not Google, Microsoft, Facebook, etc.

Until further notice, you can still take a private shower in the nude in the privacy of your home. If you want private sexual relations, don't record the memory. If you want to critique public policy, you will be much more authoritative and effective if you offer a strong coherent argument for the public record.

Spam, porn and trolling are destructive to the Internet. Those are the problems and the solutions will be what they are.

OTOH, maybe spam, porn and trolling is the Internet and everyone is pretending otherwise.