More Than Nothing

It's now come to the point where I can no longer, in good concious, continue to use Google+. Not while they continue to try and enforce their so-called "real name" policy.

There are many perfectly legitimate reasons why people would want to use different names. What's more, there are many legitimate reasons why people might want to present different names to different people. With circles, Google+ is half way to a technical solution for that – but they're hindered by policy.

I understand the desire for a stable identity. It breeds a more responsible community and it allows Google to build services around it (including, but by no means limited to advertising). But a stable identity does not necessitate a single real-world name.

Not that it's currently implemented as a real-world name. In their desperate attempts to stamp down on internet style pseudonyms they're banning people's legal names. Yes, someones first name is M3 and plenty of people do have only one name – not just celebrities – and yes, people do have a mix of non-english and english characters in their name.

As for the old "If it bothers you, you don't have to use it" line, try telling that to someone hiding from an abusive partner as their work colleagues try to get them to join in order to share the company BBQ pictures.