Can Facebook Connect Eliminate Anonymous Trolling?

Getting rid of anonymity on the internet isn't always a good thing. Would it bring down trolling in general? Sure. But is that always a good thing? Should people be forced to censor their opinions for fear of reprisal from their friends? Do we seek to censor all non-generic thought on the internet, what is essentially the last place where it is still not only possible but encouraged?

I am not saying hate speech or any of that garbage is good, but with alternative methods to weed that stuff out, why should we turn over our anonymity to facebook of all things? If you want a website without anonymity, that's fine. There are already ways to accomplish that. But a world where every website eliminates anonymity for the sake of eliminating anonymity isn't a step in the right direction.

But are "less opinionated" and "more realistic" congruent?

And of course this is ignoring the fact that all the dedicated ACTUAL trolls will use IP shielding sites and tools and go about their hateful business. The only people who will actually suffer are those people who simply possess opinions that aren't necessarily the norm. Maybe it will have some positive effects, but the negatives of peer influence quashing peoples' actual opinions outweighs that, imo.

This is a byproduct of what Facebook is trying to accomplish with Likes across the internet. I'm still very much on the fence about what they're doing. When Zuckerberg stated that they are creating an internet where "the default is social", I felt like an enormous cloud descended over all of us.

To the question posed, I can't say that it's necessarily good for the internet because this may deter people from expressing themselves. What's more interesting to me, is how this Facebook World will play out in the workplace. When a boss is browsing through comments on his favorite Tea Lounge webpage, he/she may come across an employee's comments through FB connect. How will that affect the boss' viewpoint of their employee?

Ultimately, what are the rammifications of this in the long-term? All interesting questions, I'm excited to see what happens.

our*, not "are age"

And a side effect of anonymity that I ironically never thought about: it is what gave me the opportunity to enter this debate with people I might otherwise feel awkward entering into a debate with, since we don't know each other all too well.

It's an odd freezing effect of facebook that often I can be left with the "Should I reply to this dude's status or not" decision, where I would have an actual opinion but sometimes it would just feel strange interjecting that opinion. Anonymity solves that situation.

I have to disagree with a lot of the first few comments. A lot of the problems with our generation and it's "social issues" derive from the fact that we are not required to hold the responsibility of our social actions. We have grown up in an age where instead of being represented by your true identity, we've hid behind screen names and gamertags. Even now, facebook allows you to change your name that could be something completely different. (I have a friend who just changed her name to Mayor Adam West) This has worked wonders protecting us from sexual predators but it has crippled us in the skills of being social and confident. Confrontation is a huge part of our social skills that our generation is lacking. Even the majority of young adults handle social problems immaturely due to lacking confidence and low self-esteem. Let's face it, we get to say whatever we want regardless the consequence while we hide behind the curtain. I wouldn't consider adding an actual identity to someones comment censorship. If that person felt censored, it would just mean one thing, they're scared. Let's be honest, with all this anonymous trolling, we're building a nation of socially awkward cowards. I, for one, would like to see a change to where people would be responsible for their personal comments. Not to point fingers and judge but to help build people's strength in standing behind what they believe. People will voice their opinions regardless, but when they know the repercussions fall on them, they might put a bit more thought into making a mature worth while comment, instead of impulsive, immature slander. It has nothing to do with censorship in my opinion. Censorship is someone telling you that you can't say something without unfortunate consequence. Personal Social Responsibility still gives you the choice say what you want. The only limits you have is your own conscious which is how it has been for all previous generations and in my opinion, how it should be. If you can't hold the responsibility of your comments and actions, then keep them to yourself.

"It's time to nut up or shut up!"- Tallahassee