Grants:IdeaLab/Real Names

Inspire campaign

Real Names

Force editors to self-identify, and own, their interactions with others. Create editorial level at which individuals must verifiably register and use their real names.

idea creator• Robert Brukner

volunteer• PaulWilke• Mydhily mini ajith• Lil fizy• Pandeyasish• David Condrey

this project needs...

volunteer

created on21:43, 3 June 2016 (UTC)

Project idea

What is the problem you're trying to solve?

Manage and prevent harassing interactions between editors.

What is your solution?

To make contributors accountable for their activity.

Goals

• Require contributors to authenticate their identity and sign their contributions using their real name so as to maintain a record of attribution not only for the content of articles but also for the contribution itself.
• Optionally incorporate PGP or SSL authentication signatures.
• Develop an automated, partially automated, or user based system to authenticate existing and new members.
• Develop a plan for updating existing users usernames to real names and obtaining verification for such.

Get Involved

About the idea creator

Writer.

Participants

• Volunteer great! Will find arguments to convince. PaulWilke (talk) 00:46, 5 June 2016 (UTC)
• Volunteer by sharing my ideas Mydhily mini ajith (talk) 08:16, 5 June 2016 (UTC)
• Volunteer help to solve this Lil fizy (talk) 19:10, 5 June 2016 (UTC)
• Volunteer as "guinea pig" for this experiment :) (with 10 years "track record") on "super-sensitive" subjects...
• Volunteer How would you like help? I already identify with my real name. David Condrey (talk) 10:29, 9 June 2016 (UTC)
• Volunteer Want to help for this idea Pandeyasish (talk) 04:26, 22 June 2018 (UTC)

Endorsements

BTW: Some of You do not understand the meaning of "endorse"! To post any OPPOSE statement here is vandalism! Manorainjan (talk) 18:17, 27 June 2017 (UTC)

• Yes harassment by IP numbers by a registered user or otherwise can atleast be minimized. Nannadeem (talk) 07:18, 4 June 2016 (UTC)

Addendum- Going through the undermentioned concerns, I am still in favor of Idea of registered user for which privacy policy being maintained by the WP should be trusted upon. One may use nick name as a registered user. Nannadeem (talk) 20:30, 4 June 2016 (UTC)

• Seeing that the mobile industry is progressing, I suggest the use of finger print verification. This technology is now widely used on smart phones. Registered users could verify their login before progressing. Facial recognition can be used on desktops and laptops. This way you can easily identify or locate an offender. JohnOjara 14:47, Saturday, June 4, 2016 (UTC)
• it seems that people using their own names will be kinder and politer, as they would in real life. But will there be a concern about freedom of expression being compromised for those living under oppressive regimes? Tommowlam (talk) 23:08, 6 June 2016 (UTC)

• Using a service for federated identity that provide an oblique identifier that can be used for a delayed full resolution could be an idea. That is we can say that two users are the same, but we can't say who that user is before we really need to do so. It is like telling Wikimedia your bank account number but not your name, but with a warrant from a judge the bank will tell Wikimedia your name. The bank is the supplier of the oblique identifier and the judge would be a steward. Some parts of Mediawiki would be changed slightly, but I guess most of the changes would go in the central authentication system. Handling the oblique identifiers are pretty well-known, and it should work with both real name and IP-address on TOR. Ie. you get an oblique identifier before you traverse TOR to reach Wikimedia. — Jeblad 21:11, 7 June 2016 (UTC)

• Support! This idea will assign more seriously to work done by volunteers at the Wikimedia projects. Stanglavine (talk) 19:47, 8 June 2016 (UTC)

• Just as attribution to a reliable reference is required for content, so should attribution to a real person whose identity has been verified should be required to contribute. The idea of open contributions may have made sense when Wikimedia first started but it's large enough and prominent enough to start imposing more strict requirements for participation. Yes, you may loose some people, but you will also gain other people who may have been dissuaded by uncalled for harassment or the simple lack of decent oversight.
  
  For what purpose would anyone have the desire to contribute information to an encyclopedia of which that information is factual, proven by its references, yet that person would have the need to remain anonymous? I can think of very few good reasons for wanting to remain anonymous. David Condrey (talk) 10:23, 9 June 2016 (UTC)

• Its only through the usage of authentic identity that any effective accountability can be established. SalmanAlamIAM (talk) 19:25, 13 June 2016 (UTC)

• To promote RealNames will certainly be of help. Only one can not force the use of RealNames on everyone. there must be be the element of voluntariness in it, otherwise it will just shift the problem elsewhere. Manorainjan (talk) 18:17, 27 June 2017 (UTC)

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