Nothing in this post is directly related to this site, but I wanted to share my experience in case anyone here uses a pseudonym on Google+. The nymwars are back with a vengeance over on Google's social network.
As you might expect, I have a personal stake in this. I've been active on Google+ since its initial launch and I've find the community there whip-smart and unfailingly interesting. The interface is a bit wonky, but a social network is all about the people, right?
The problem, of course, is that Google doesn't see Google+ as a social network.
"If you think about it, the Internet would be better if we had an accurate notion that you were a real person."
Google sees Google+ as an identity service, not a social network. They want to know who you are. So, to that end, that started the service with a names policy that required all users to use their real name. To that end, Google aggressively moved to eliminate accounts that were created under false names and suggested that people who didn't want to, or couldn't, use their real name should not use Google".
"Well, the first comment is that Google+ is completely optional. In fact, many many people want to get in, if you don’t want to use it, you don’t have to."
This went about as well as you might imagine. The policy was inconsistently enforced and extremely unpopular. As it turns out, the internet has a long, long history of operating effectively when people use nyms. Some people had to use fake names because they had jobs, or exes, or stalkers, or what have you. Some people just enjoyed the online persona they'd developed and wanted to continue using it.
There were the "nymwars." In the end, Google modified changed their policy:
Names and Google+
Google+ makes connecting with people on the web more like connecting with people in the real world. It's recommended that you go by your first and last name because it will help you connect with people you know and help them find you.
This policy applies only to Google+ profiles. Google+ profiles are for individuals. If you want to use Google+ to represent someone or something other than yourself -- like your business, your band, your family, or your pet -- you should create a Google+ page instead.
That's the whole of it. Using real names was now just a recommendation, not a mandate. So long as you're a single person and you're not representing yourself as some other person, you're good. Right?
That's how thing stood until Google updated their terms of service. Google+ will now, by default, be turning user posts into ads. There's an opt-out which really should be an opt-in, but it's not that big a deal. It's straying a little bit away from the "don't be evil" motto, but so it goes.
However, if Google is going to use their users' profiles and posts for advertising, then they felt they really need to clean up their user base. The nymwars have returned. And yes, this time, I was banned for a non-compliant name.
The Google names appeal process is a Brazil-the-movie-esque exercise in frustration. You submit links showing other sites where you use the name in question and you can upload a file with identification, and then you wait anywhere from two weeks to ten minutes, and you'll either have your suspension lifter or, more likely, receive a form e-mail saying "Your appeal is denied. Try again." You can repeat this as often as you like, but you'll never get any additional information.
You can go through the help forums, but you'll need to get a friend to help you since you can't post when you're suspended. You'll get a response, but unfortunately, you won't get more information or any other ways to move the appeal forward.
It's really annoying. Google has a nice network, but their names policy is so un-Google like in its silliness and futility that I wonder if the company is no longer in the hands of the visionaries (their support of James Inhofe tends to confirm this). If they actually verified all names, then claims that they're an "identity service" would have merit. Instead, they'll accept literally any name that looks like a real name without questioning it. The end result is that fake people who look real are encouraged, while fake people that people can tell are fake get banned. I was told to make an account with an apparently-real name to make a "page" for WTF Pancakes. Yes, I could make a fake account that they'd accept to make a page for my real online identity that they won't accept. I'm not sure that's "irony", but it lives in the same neighborhood.
So, if you're a Google+ user and you're using a handle, your days on their service are probably numbered. Thanks for letting me vent, and I hope you found this story helpful.