Aufgrund der nun sehr lebendig gewordenen Diskussion zur Klarnamenspflicht auf Diesten wie Google+ oder auch Facebook, gibt es nun diverse Aktionen für die freie Namenswahl im Internet. Die Gründe sind so vielfältig, die kann man nicht einmal an zwei Händen aufzählen. Zusammengefasst, geht es jedoch primär um den Schutz der Privatspähre und der Persönlichkeit.

Everyone's abuzz with the "nymwars," mostly in response to Google Plus' decision to enforce its "real names" policy. At first, Google Plus went on a deleting spree, killing off accounts that violated its policy. When the community reacted with outrage, Google Plus leaders tried to calm the anger by detailing their "new and improved" mechanism to enforce "real names" (without killing off accounts).

The Internet has always been a refuge of anonymity. Anyone could hide behind the cloak of namelessness and express the most offensive views. Now politicians and companies -- including Google and Facebook -- want to change that. The Avenue de l'Opéra in Paris is a respectable address, surrounded by banks, boutiques and cafés.

Germany's Interior Minister Hans-Peter Friedrich said there should be an end to anonymity on the Internet in light of the recent attacks in Norway. A right-wing extremist, Anders Behring Breivik, whose bombing and shooting attacks killed 77 people in July, had espoused his anti-immigration view in a blog on the Internet.

This is sadly something that requires a bad experience to truly appreciate. I confess that I always enjoyed the privacy of the Internet, but I really didn't think it mattered that much.