Real-Life Names Requirement Originally Considered For Sansar

In June 2016, Ebbe Altberg/Ebbe Linden made some remarks about Sansar that I originally heard as him thinking it might be best if Sansar required the use of real-life names. When the complete transcript was available, it turned out I had slightly misinterpreted the statements, and I retracted that part of my article. But questions over the matter continued. As it turned out, according to Tara Hernandez in a podcast hosted by TC Currie of "The New StackMakers," Linden Lab really did consider the idea that "no one is allowed to use a pseudonym."

"How do address that.," Hernandez spoke at around 20:30 in the interview about Linden Lab going over options on how to deal with griefing, "How do we address griefing in Sansar. One idea was, no one is allowed to use a pseudonym. There is no anonymity, and that way everyone will play nice, because we all know who everyone is ... (to Currie) you just winced. You can imagine the roar of outrage at this."

The interviewer's response was, "I'm sure those were men who were making this suggestion, mostly."

"Yeah, I think that's a fair assessment," Hernandez answered, "And you know, if you don't have to think about a particular issue that's forefront in your day to day experience, you just don't think about it. I chose a bear (avatar in Second Life) because I didn't want to have to deal with the implications of having a female avatar, right or wrong. ... So yes, I think women definitely, and also members of our queer community were like, 'Hey, we get what you're trying to do, but you might want to rethink that a bit because it's a safety issue. Stalking is a thing, virtual and otherwise."

She would go on to say, "I'm happy to say that discussion prompted the change. ... I think officially it's been deferred." She did admit the idea of scrapping anonymity "came from the right intent," and went on to say Linden Lab "has a long history of inclusivity. This is the most inclusive company I've worked with."

Of her current avatar in Sansar, she spoke amusingly, "I'm kinda annoyed because I can't be a bear yet. It feels wrong somehow. ... My nickname is 'Baloo.' "

Source: The New Stackmakers

Hat Tip: Hamlet Au 

Bixyl Shuftan