A pseudonym can't be libeled, can it?
That's an interesting question. It's a philosophical one, I think, as well as a legal one. Psychology would be involved in any serious discussion of the subject: a question would be, is a virtual community (one with certain characteristics) a community in a psychological sense that is real and deserves consideration under the law.
I hear OMD is here, I wonder what he has to say about the law on it. (I'm way behind.)
One difference between those who use their real names and those who use handles is that some of those who use their real names have had experiences that change their minds. I think that happens to a lot of women on SI. I always had a handle, but when I was first on SI, I had my email address, which included my name, posted on my profile page. Whoa. I soon figured out that that wasn't a great idea. The most bizarre thing that happened when my real identity was findable was that a guy got mad at some thread 'pals' of mine in an exchange involving what he considered a disrespectful use of his name (in which I played no role), which was Zengor something like that (last name, and they were using it as a verb) and because i was the only identifiable one around, he semi-threatened them with coming to my house with a gun. Or getting someone to. ("You can do that in this country, but it would be wrong," he wrote.) ("but it would be wrong" is why I called it a "semi-threat.") |
