Research Proposal

Working Thesis Statement:

In spite of increased interpersonal civility due to policies enforced by online communities that require users to be identified by their born namesakes, these policies greatly hinder online diversity and the ability for people to truly express their opinions and beliefs.

Through the research I have conducted so far on this topic I have been pleasantly surprised at the amount of material there actually is on this subject. The debates on this topic have been occurring for decades with both sides presenting valid arguments supported by nod-worthy information and statistics. The fact that there are valid points on each side makes choosing which side you agree with difficult. But I am starting to come to some of my own conclusions and one of them was influenced by the following quote from M.E Kabay’s (1998) paper titled Anonymity and Pseudonymity in Cyberspace: Deindividuation, Incivility and Lawlessness Versus Freedom and Privacy:

In light of the seriousness of these abuses of inadequate identification in cyberspace, system managers and others concerned with the continued success of the Internet as an effective communications medium should consider the reasons for abusive behaviour of anonymous individuals. Is such abuse an aberration particular to cyberspace or are there precedents in history and in other areas of life that can provide insights to shape public and corporate policy towards identification in cyberspace?

I think this quote really helps illustrate how the debaters entangled in this drawn out argument need to step back away from their screens and consider the real reasons behind why when people can be anonymous or pseudonymous they sometimes decide to use their lack of identity to do negative things.

References

Kabay, M. E. (1998, March). Anonymity and pseudonymity in cyberspace: Deindividuation, incivility and lawlessness versus freedom and privacy. In Paper presented at the Annual Conference of the European Institute for Computer Anti-virus Research, 16, 8.