On Google+, Posting publicly as requested

[sasha_feather]

I really want to love Google+. I like a lot of things about it-- the ease of use, the built in posting circles (filters), the photo uploader, and especially the hangouts feature, which prompted me to dig through a box of junk to find my never-used webcam and finally use it! I wanted G+ to replace Facebook, which I have little love for. I'm an early adopter and have provided a lot of feedback.

What I dislike is this business of disallowing pseudonyms. Friends of mine have had their accounts suspended. Other friends of mine are leaving voluntarily over this issue. For a while there, G+ was full of WisCon people and fanficcers and generally the people I want to spend time with. The brand power of Google means that more people will join. Now, people are leaving.

I have a very common legal name which protects me somewhat from stalkers and the like. Which makes me casual about using my given name and connecting it to my pseud. Most people don't have this privilege. Also, how do you even know what's a "real name"? It seems real? Shame on you, Google. Get with the 21st century. Haven't you read any cyberpunk?

Comments

[trouble]

The more I see this happen, the more I want to publicly talk about how Anna Pearce isn't my legal name, it just looks like one which always makes me safe, but we all know that the people being reported are being reported by griefers and fuck I am not up to going through any more of that.

[meloukhia]

That is one of the things about this that is really starting to piss me off; Google is acting like it can easily detect pseuds on the basis of what 'looks fake.'