No Anonymity.

[Simon E.]

Many social media sites are now banning the use of forum names, and insisting on users using their own real names.

Can I suggest that this be adopted on D.W.?

If members want to use a name given by their teacher thats fine, but the name on their passport/social security document should be in their sig.

Also if members identify a teaching or interpretation as having come from their teacher I think it should be mandatory that they should name that teacher.

[Adamantine]

If that were the case I'd stop posting here. I don't publicly proclaim I'm a Buddhist
since my career is in the culture industry / western context and anything religious is for
the most part unfashionable. I choose not to advertise my faith because it would be sneered at by some
and I'd rather be a "hidden yogi". It would not be smart for me to have my google search results
lead to a huge amount of Dharmawheel posts. For those whose names or lives are relatively
anonymous anyway.. Or who pride themselves on their Buddhist identities - I'm sure it could be
totally no problem or even positive. But a mandatory policy of non-anonymity would probably reduce the
membership somewhat.. I guarantee at least by one!

[DGA]

There are good reasons for a real-name policy, and good reasons for anonymity. Some fora have devised helpful compromises, where one must disclose one's meat-space name to the admin or owner of the site before posting. Anonymity can be useful for persons such as Adamantine, and also for some members who practice in parts of the world where Dharma practice is explicitly forbidden or is a social taboo (we've had participants from Iran, Pakistan, Alabama...).

I think Simon E.'s idea of requiring users to specify which teacher said what when alluding to a teaching given by "my teacher" has merit.

[Simon E.]

Thank you for the interesting responses so far.

Anyone else ?

[muni]

Yes.
Part of “Call me by my true names”:

I am the mayfly metamorphosing on the surface of the river,
and I am the bird which, when spring comes, arrives in time
to eat the mayfly.

I am the frog swimming happily in the clear pond,
and I am also the grass-snake who, approaching in silence,
feeds itself on the frog.

I am the child in Uganda, all skin and bones,
my legs as thin as bamboo sticks,
and I am the arms merchant, selling deadly weapons to
Uganda.

I am the twelve-year-old girl, refugee on a small boat,
who throws herself into the ocean after being raped by a sea
pirate,
and I am the pirate, my heart not yet capable of seeing and
loving.

I am a member of the politburo, with plenty of power in my
hands,
and I am the man who has to pay his "debt of blood" to, my
people,
dying slowly in a forced labor camp.

My joy is like spring, so warm it makes flowers bloom in all
walks of life.
My pain if like a river of tears, so full it fills the four oceans.

Please call me by my true names,
so I can hear all my cries and laughs at once,
so I can see that my joy and pain are one.

Please call me by my true names,
so I can wake up,
and so the door of my heart can be left open,
the door of compassion.

Thich Nhat Hanh

[Huseng]

Last year when I was in Kathmandu the institution I was staying at received an anonymous e-mail from someone on this forum indicating their displeasure with me and my statements on the forum, going on to say they had 'asked around Boudha' about me and heard all sorts of things (that's BS because almost nobody knows about me in Boudha nor cares).

They suggested the institution reconsider letting me stay there, suggesting I was also a fake monk. They didn't know for sure I was there, but my statements on the forum and location would have made it obvious it was one of two places in Boudha. The secretary said if they had issues with me they would meet them in person to discuss the matter, but this anonymous individual in question admitted to not being in Kathmandu.

It didn't amount to anything in the end and it was dismissed, but still someone from this forum basically tried to get me kicked out of where I was staying and working in Kathmandu. How very un-Buddhist, but then they probably felt justified and regarded me as a threat that needed to be dealt with punitively.

I suppose in retrospect keeping an anonymous identity and not revealing my location from the start way back when might have been optimal, but too late for that now. I've never concealed my identity here, but then I've also got to meet new friends in real life from my interactions on DW and eSangha, so it has been worth it.

I think real names should be optional. Many people are closet Buddhists and need to keep it that way because they live in communities that wouldn't welcome it. It might hurt their careers and income.

[Simon E.]

My first response to that Indrajala is to suggest that the person who made those allegations felt able to do so because of their forum anonymity.
I suspect that the absence of anonymity would cut through such shenanigans like a knife through butter.

Many of us who were around in E Sangha days experienced an extremely unbalanced personality who would go from forum to forum causing havoc and appeared to have no idea that they were so doing..I think that they were sincere, but very needy.

That person was ' outed ' from their anonymity by a former supporter who had become tired of the constant feuds and wrangles, and the behaviour stopped completely and has not recommenced.

Its extraordinary ..the sense of invulnerability that anonymity confers.

[Urgyen Dorje]

I'd actually prefer a situation where nobodoy was anonymous, and everyone shared a substantial bio about themselves so that one could have some appreciation of who everyone was and brought to the table. I'd also prefer a forum that was approached and dealt with like a real sangha, with all of the samaya that goes along with that. That would fit my needs living out in the sticks and hoping to refly on more of a virtual sangha.

That said, DW isn't that, and while it's extraordinarily well moderated and behaved for an internet forum, I can't afford to be outted here. I go stealth in my community, with my friends and colleagues, and my ability to do my work in my community, at my job, and to have nice relationships would be destroyed if people knew i was a buddhist.

[Punya]

If this policy was implemented I would quit posting for similar reasons to Adamantine and Urgyen Dorje. Some may say that's a good thing. I wouldn't mind supplying my real name to the owner/operator although this would come with the risk that it could somehow be publicly released.

My real concern though, is the effect that such a change of policy would have on the very people who need this site the most. Those who don't live in supportive communities and for whom this may be their only sangha. They should have the opportunity to participate, not just lurk.

[seeker242]

I would suggest not doing this. People, including myself, don't want their real names plastered all over Google.

[BrianG]

I think it's a bad idea. Would real name mean actual name, or dharma name? What about people posting from countries where Buddhism is outlawed/repressed? What if a Tibetan in China posts pro Dalai Lama messages, then gets thrown in prison for ten years because the forum requires real names?

Real names is a policy that could end up getting someone hurt, which is contrary to refuge. People should feel absolutely safe posting here.

[Huseng]

My first response to that Indrajala is to suggest that the person who made those allegations felt able to do so because of their forum anonymity.
I suspect that the absence of anonymity would cut through such shenanigans like a knife through butter.

The forum is publicly visible, so it wouldn't matter that much.

I just wish whoever sent the e-mail had the guts to present themselves rather than hiding behind an anonymous e-mail address.

[Simon E.]

I think it's a bad idea. Would real name mean actual name, or dharma name? What about people posting from countries where Buddhism is outlawed/repressed? What if a Tibetan in China posts pro Dalai Lama messages, then gets thrown in prison for ten years because the forum requires real names?

Real names is a policy that could end up getting someone hurt, which is contrary to refuge. People should feel absolutely safe posting here.

I went into your first point in the op. If those with a Dharma name prefer to use it , then fine. But they should give their 'official' name in their sig.

There is btw before the E.U. Court of Human Rights a bill which if passed would make all anonymity illegal on social media sites for EU citizens..

[Malcolm]

My first response to that Indrajala is to suggest that the person who made those allegations felt able to do so because of their forum anonymity.
I suspect that the absence of anonymity would cut through such shenanigans like a knife through butter.

The forum is publicly visible, so it wouldn't matter that much.

I just wish whoever sent the e-mail had the guts to present themselves rather than hiding behind an anonymous e-mail address.

If it's any consolation, it wasn't me.

[Huseng]

If it's any consolation, it wasn't me.

Despite our disagreements, I know you'd have the honour to be forthcoming and identify yourself.

[Simon E.]

As you led the way in coming out from using your Dharma name on Buddhist forums Malcolm I don't think you needed to say that..its not your style at all.

[joy&peace]

My understanding:

It is not the anonymity of social media that is the issue - it is that we are not taking it slowly enough.

Going into a new world, one ought to do so very slowly - does this make sense?

This is an entirely new world - actually every moment of the world is new;

So in a sense it is not new - yet it is new each moment anyway -

Loving-kindness is what cuts through shenanigans; and peaceful energy, not particulars over identity.

Anonymity is actually a bit of a cure for some of these ills - protects us - and all living beings deserve protection and preservation.

In fact as I progress further, I come to understand the preservation and protection are the essence of the path - not to attain something, but simply to preserve the natural state of health, joy, peace, life and so forth, that is inherent within us.

I see it mentioned in sutras more and more, and so forth.

So the situation is still, as it has ever been, quite the same - seek peace, attain it, and share it. All the same.

It makes little difference as to what our presumed identities are - they are still the same, in that everything we say affects them, and so forth.

It is the same reality - whether you call people by what names, they are still the same people.

Misunderstandings arise from the same reasons - and they are cut through by the same methods.

Everything is more interconnected these days - seemingly - although it would seem clear, it has always been equally interconnected;

Although now we are able to see it in real world time more easily, as we are able to talk to people from all over the world.

People on Facebook and so forth, young people I am primarily referring to,

Well, what can I say but it is new - and yet it is the same - it is not different; our personalities are reflected very clearly, and our energy - one may see it - but it takes a while. .

Becoming free of the desire to dominate is the essential means and the path - and the reaching of this state is no different;

The results of this state are no different -

And the way to share this understanding is not different -

And again, misunderstandings arise for the same reasons as they always have, and are cut through by the same methods - it's still the same.

Anonymity is a new thing in the world - and it is a new tool; it can be used for good or ill, just as any other factor of life;

The community here understands well, that the protection of it is a very positive thing, when used appropriately and responsibly -

With the goal of sharing clear insight, peaceful living, and wisdom. In a word, Dharma.

[Urgyen Dorje]

A friend of mine is an expert in using the internet to create virtual communities. Anonymity is something that really works against forming cohesive viritual communities where people feel that have reciprocal relationships with people-- support and a commitment to support. That said, removing anonymity in itself doesn't create a viritual community, there is more intention required than that.

After some creepy incidents, I'm reluctant to divulge my identity anywhere on the internet because along with that people have: my address; phone number; professional emails and phone numbers; my place of employment; what I teach; class times and locations; student names; professional papers and collaborators; what nonprofit corporations I'm involved with; my wife's name; her professional emails and phone numbers; my sanghas; my lamas names; many of my sangha member's names; content on other forums related to politics, local politics, social justice. Clever people can dig deeper into all sorts of information without leaving their laptop. People can and routinely do strange things with this type of content, for marketing and for no good.

I'd be willing to divulge all of that in the context of a viritual community where everybody divulged their personal dharma "CV" for a lack of a better term, and the forum wasn't open to the whole universe.

[Huseng]

I'd be willing to divulge all of that in the context of a viritual community where everybody divulged their personal dharma "CV" for a lack of a better term, and the forum wasn't open to the whole universe.

Curious, are you on academia.edu?

[joy&peace]

Exactly. And you bring up the good point - of a community where one is protected by certain things such as being invited - then some of the more unique points of Buddhism can be discussed in more detail; when there is the trust already established, and safety from ridicule. As Emerson says, 'It is one of the blessings of old friends that you can afford to be stupid with them.' The harm in society comes significantly from this continuation of suffering - he made me suffer, so I will make someone suffer - best way to do so on the internet is by trying to make people look stupid. However, this is not acceptable - in social media circles, we have come to see that words have very real impact in the world - and have caused very real and physical impact - both for good and for ill. . . so it is one of those things - many layers, almost infinitely complex - yet more simple than anything. Paradox? Maybe.