YouTube Pushing Users Switch To Real Names

http://www.jimyounkin.com/2012/07/youtube-pushing-users-switch-to-real.html

by MRonney • 14 years ago

46 61 14 years ago

I assume this is the gradual phasing in of google+ for every google product. They can't switch to real identities straight away without backlash, so if they do it slowly (first names, wait a few months, then photos, wait a few months, then profiles) nobody will be outraged.

mmuro• 14 years ago

It'd be nice if I could change what my "display name" is anyways, whether you use Google+ or not (which I don't).

marknutter• 14 years ago

Hopefully this will increase the quality of comments on Youtube, which are currently unreadable.

DanBC2• 14 years ago

I really doubt it'll do much.

It will stop perhaps the very worst 5%

But the comments are so awful that skimming 5% is nothing.

Adam Buxton (who used to work with Joe Cornish) has a show about music videos in which he mocks youtube comments. It's pretty good.

jiggy20112• 14 years ago

Judging by 99% of the comments I read on youtube I'd be surprised if many of those people would be happy having those associated with their real names.

Perhaps some would happily do that now, but what about in 10 years when they've grown up?

CodeCube• 14 years ago

Darwin's Law for the modern age ... don't write the comment if you can't take the credit ;)

JoelMcCracken• 14 years ago

I wonder if this would alter the horror that is youtube comments?

Wilya• 14 years ago

That's not very surprising. They are forcing everything towards integrating everything into Google+, one way or another.

And I must say, when I read in one of the screenshots "And if you change your mind, you can switch back to your username", I chuckled inside. Call me cynical, but I'd bet a lot that going back will stop being possible pretty soon.

ericson578• 14 years ago

now I regret linking my gmail+youtube accounts. Oh well, time to delete that youtube account. What was the name of that anonymous email service again, ironic that I'll find it with google.

I don't need every future employer forever more knowing that I commented on a controversial video that one time back in '12.

biomechanica2• 14 years ago

I find it very frustrating that Google thinks that forcing people to reveal their identities is a "good" thing.

"People will be held accountable now!" is the slogan I keep hearing ringing in my head listening to the excuses put out by companies.

In the end, it is their service people are using and they can dictate the terms all they want. However, it also sets up a system where people will now expect websites across the web to want their true names.

In a sense, it will become common place and make people look weird for using nick names. At least, that's my opinion.

Fuck them for doing that.

masklinn2• 14 years ago

> I find it very frustrating that Google thinks that forcing people to reveal their identities is a "good" thing.

Remember: Google's business is advertising, and you can sell far better/more expensive ads to "real identities". As far as business goes, real identities are most definitely a good thing. For google, that is.

masklinn2• 14 years ago

> now I regret linking my gmail+youtube accounts

Not like you had much of a choice. "Youtube accounts" have been dead for a few years now, you can't log into a pure youtube account you're required to convert it or link it to a google account. In fact, youtube doesn't even have its own login page anymore, it's accounts.google.com or bust.

simcop2387• 14 years ago

I usually use mailinator.com for my random anonymous accounts all over. at least4 the ones i don't want directly associated with me.

gddr• 14 years ago

I used mailcatch.com, but I always ran into problems like sites that block temporary accounts. So I decided to make a Google account for all my, ahem, "NSFW needs". Which would also give me the ability to like/dislike videos on YouTube, and see the comments on the ones that have been "flagged as NSFW".

So what is my surprise when I see "You have to enter your phone number to continue". After trying to bypass it a few times I just gave up and got a Lavabit account. I don't want to give you my phone number and I most certainly don't want to give you my real name, Google. What the hell.

wallawe• 14 years ago

Although there probably will be a backlash, I think this is a smart move from the social networking standpoint. Google is finally leveraging one of its most powerful assets that has to this point not played an integral role of building their G+ user base in any way.

This is a weapon that facebook lacks. Plus it helps get rid of the "internet fuckwads" but as the author said, it's certainly an uphill battle. I don't think we should view it a negative light though.

Produce• 14 years ago

>I don't think we should view it a negative light though.

You won't be saying that when your future girlfriend googles your name and sees all the My Little Pony videos you've been watching.

slowpoke• 14 years ago

>Plus it helps get rid of the "internet fuckwads"

Hahaha. No.

Take a single look at Facebook, and you'll be proven wrong. The amount of utter retardation people post under their real names is both astonishing and depressing.

I've seen the reaction of another community where the "overlords" had the brilliant idea to force real names for exactly this reason. It was, by at least two orders of magnitude, the biggest shitstorm in the history of World of Warcraft, and that's saying something.

(In all fairness, Blizzard realized what a gigantically fucking stupid idea that was and retracted the announcement pretty quickly.)

I hope that this will deal a decisive blow to Youtube as a platform. The monopoly it enjoys in its segment is unhealthy and needs to go away.

kmfrk2• 14 years ago

I don't really mind this, as long as it isn't retroactive. YouTube comments are a parody of themselves as it is. The newish development of trying to pander in order to reach the top comment position has made them even worse.

beefsack• 14 years ago

On the contrary, if it were applied retroactively, it would be a spectacle!

pavel_lishin• 14 years ago

"I cannot believe my mother typed those words. Or that she typed them so badly."

alex_c• 14 years ago

I almost wish it were retroactive, just for the commenter remorse it would cause.

Failing that, the Herp Derp YouTube Comments browser extension is easily the best plugin I have installed.

http://www.tannr.com/herp-derp-youtube-comments/

thornofmight• 14 years ago

It's worse than you think.

I registered a new account on Youtube a couple days ago and was not even given the option to choose a username. They asked me for my first and last name and that was it.

RobAtticus2• 14 years ago

At first I was kinda excited for this since I don't really go by my Youtube handle anymore, so I'd rather it be my new handle or my name. However, once I started the process, I realized I had uploaded some videos of my friend and I playing NBA Hangtime. Our team name is "WANKIT SLOWLY". Not sure I want that to be associated with my real name when people Google me.

hackinthebochs• 14 years ago

Too late... I myself have been somewhat disturbed at the many hoards of "hacker news" indexers and mirror sites that come up when I google my screenname. Deleting/editing the comment may not even be enough anymore.

RobAtticus2• 14 years ago

Well, not exactly. My real name isn't the same as my HN handle, but point well taken. I don't think it would be terribly hard to get from one to the other.

deepGem• 14 years ago

And they are doing it elegantly. I don't even remember how I turned on the real identity feature. It was that seamless.

lectrick• 14 years ago

My real name is INSANELY googleable (as in, from what I can tell, a google of my first and last name acts like a "primary key" to my entire internet presence)... so I fucking hate these efforts. I hated it when Blizzard pushed it, I'll tolerate it on Google+ but frankly, I NEED a place where I can speak anonymously and freely.

olalonde• 14 years ago

Use a realistic fake name?

cowkingdeluxe• 14 years ago

In Aug 2011, Google banned quite a bit of Google+ accounts for using fake names and nicknames. Does Google still do this?

gms• 14 years ago

This is a real shame. The comedy that is YouTube comments will be greatly diminished.

Spooky23• 14 years ago

At least we know that nothing will make Youtube comments worse than they are right now.

mladenkovacevic3• 14 years ago

I'm actually interested in using my real name but I would like to be able to employ pseudonyms as well (mostly to be able to interact as a brand).

When you opt out of using your real name they ask you what the reason is and I think based on the feedback they get from that little survey they might extend the functionality to include multiple names in some way shape or form. (at least I hope). Google+ already has some of this ability with the brand pages so hopefully they carry that over into into YouTube.

alkimie2• 14 years ago

The point is that they don't -want- you to use pseudonyms. I don't know about the rest of you but I segregate the various presences in the aether. What I found most offensive is that they omitted the option of saying that you did not want to use your real name solely because you didn't -want- to use your real name.

I posted a short reaction at http://youtu.be/Imhqt1vr3T8 Hopefully their search engine will pick it up.

mladenkovacevic3• 14 years ago

doesn't the "personal use, cannot use my real name" box cover your concerns?

fluxon• 14 years ago

WTF, people, just turn on Comment Moderation. This should be on by default, instead of requiring "real" (har) names.

droithomme2• 14 years ago

It's often argued in these cases that identification and real names will increase the quality of comments by eliminating trolls, stalkers and troublemakers somehow.

When measured empirically, one study found that anonymous commenting from people without user accounts increases the ratio of good comments to poor quality ones. The reason is that so many more people comment. There's a certain fixed number of trolls and troublemakers who have a lot of free time and will go through whatever hoops are needed to set up an account with a registered name, which may or may not be their real one. Legitimate commenters though are not as motivated to jump through hoops and comply with demands they use a consistent, or real sounding name.

http://blog.topix.com/2008/01/anonymous-comments-by-the-numb...

As far as people with video accounts on youtube who are contributing content and allowing for the business model, youtube has many cases of attractive women vloggers who are routinely stalked by unhinged fan/viewers. Do these vloggers benefit from a degree of anonymity, or the ability to use pen names? Yes. In addition to attractive women, there are also many aliased vloggers posting political opinions about police and military brutality, citizen journalists anonymously uploading video from protests, etc. Maintaining penname aliases on vlogger content accounts clearly allows these contributors to increase their own safety by making it more difficult to stalk and harass them in real life by not just trolls and dysfunctional people, but also from government agents intending to both silence them and do them harm.

bhartzer• 14 years ago

I have no problem using my real name, In fact, I'm already using it on YouTube. The only 'vloggers' who would benefit from anonymity are the ones who have something to say that could be consider 'controversial' by someone else.

roguecoder• 14 years ago

That is not true: http://geekfeminism.wikia.com/wiki/Who_is_harmed_by_a_%22Rea...

ben0x539• 14 years ago

> The only 'vloggers' who would benefit from anonymity are the ones who have something to say that could be consider 'controversial' by someone else.

You don't think there's a large group to which that applies?

Given how easy it is to turn online harassment into real-life harassment with a little internet research, I will not begrudge anyone their separate identities. Your "controversial" opinion could be as benign as "I don't owe my youtube stalkers any attention" before someone is subjected to threats have the potential to seriously affect their life.

I don't have a problem using my real name either (this handle is easily traceable to my full address, I believe), but I'm a white guy, moderately well off and my political opinions are the mainstream, etc. I enjoy a degree of safety and social support that I take for granted, but that's not a luxury available to many who also deserve to participate in internet communities and cultural life.

That Google (and others) are not only not accomodating them but going out of their way to make it harder for them to have an online presence is really surprising to me. I'd have thought Google "gets" it, and I don't see what they're gaining from moves like this.

DanBC2• 14 years ago

That's nice for you. But since no-one is trying to stop you from using your real name I'm not sure what your point is.

There are plenty of people that I know on YouTube by their fake names. I have no idea what benefits I get from them using a real name.

One problem that YouTube needs to sort out is "replygirls"; another is the appalling quality of comments.

(A last one is the unfortunate placing of ads. I keep seeing an ad about being a father (and backing up photos?) - there's no way to tell youtube that you never want to see that ad again. I imagine that there are many people who find that ad unbearable because they have recently lost a child. I would be happy to rate ads, and for YouTube to give that data back to advertisers. I tend to watch the ads to pay for the content I'm using. I only skip if it's infuriating.)

kevinflo• 14 years ago

The list of reasons I was prompted with when I opted out of making the switch really irked me. For the list to not include "I want my name to remain private" when that is obviously the most common reason felt condescending. To make me say that "I'll decide later" seemed like a bully tactic. I've already made up my mind.

leke• 14 years ago

I opened a new google account recently and when I tried youtube, I didn't even see the option to use my account name, my 'real name' from my email had already been chosen.

darklajid2• 14 years ago

I'm never logged in to YouTube.

I deleted my Google+ account when they started playing the Facebook game, turning an interesting service into a ~personal~ thing.

From what I can tell from my usage and discussions among friends, YouTube really is declining in use, thanks to the overzealous media industry, blocking videos left and right. If you want to listen to a bit of German music you're advised to use a proxy outside of Germany itself for a while, to avoid getting the dreaded 'This video is not available in your country' message.

In short: G+ fell short for me personally and in my 'circles'. YouTube could never interest me much in terms of keeping an account, as a consumer (for what? Comments?).

I'm glad that I don't rely on these services (anymore). I'll rather stay with a pseudonym, vimeo and duckduckgo.

pilif• 14 years ago

In the last step of the assistant (by looking at the screenshots - not really using my youtube account, so I can't say), they ask for possible reasons why not to use the real name and the reasons they list are pretty valid and cover about the extent of reasons why I would not want to use my real name.

As such this leaves me with hope that they at least understand that real-name-for-everything is not a good idea.

Speaking of nicknames though:

Being able to use a nickname as the main identification handle on twitter is one of the main reasons why I'm not using Google+. Finishing a talk or a discussion with a quick "hey - follow me on twitter: @pilif" is so much easier than "Please search me on Google+ under the name Philip Hofstetter".

The last name is very difficult to type and in addition there are still a ton of Philip Hofstetter's around for people to confuse me with.

By enforcing the unique nickname and allowing users to use them as handles (and in URLs), twitter makes it much easier for people to bridge the gap between the real and the virtual world to the point where I know many people by their twitter handle instead of their real names.

With Google+ I'd have to make people spell my long name ("how many t's again?") or to give them an absurdly long number as my ID - neither of which is at all appealing (or producing "conversions" - if you want to call acquiring followers that)

darklajid2• 14 years ago

As some one further down in this thread already noticed: The one reason that they didn't list is "I don't _want_ that, period".

The closest thing is "I _cannot_ use my real name". Which I'd probably click if I'd ever be in that situation. But that's not the same thing.

kmfrk2• 14 years ago

If push comes to shove, is there a tool out there to export the links and titles of my favourite videos?

jiggy20112• 14 years ago

Perhaps the whole idea of "Real names" is outdated in the days of the internet. Since they have problems.

They collide, especially with a common name. Somebody googles your name and it may be difficult to find the "real" you.

Also people are pretty bad at spelling, many peoples names are very hard to spell. Not to mention that many of them are going to use different character sets.

Besides, if your life revolves around your internet identity. Is that a less legitimate identity than your real name?

It may be more practical for parents to assign some sort of "default handle" to their children which is expected to be changed as the child gets older.

For government purposes, perhaps a unique ID that cannot be changed would work better?

radarsat1• 14 years ago

I find Google's new policies surprising. Maybe "surprising" isn't the right word, but it's certainly a change in attitude that seems to ignore their own history. They started off by giving the web what it wanted and needed, a no-bullshit search service, adapting themselves to the web and profiting from it. Now they are trying to adapt the web to them, and I just don't see it going that way. Pseudonymity and the web go together, I really have my doubts in their their ability to remove it, influential as they are. Granted, Facebook may have changed people's attitudes towards pseudonymity, but I tend to think it's still something people fundamentally want.

k3n• 14 years ago

Fuck G+.

user49598• 14 years ago

If i had to use my real name, I'd probably never comment on this site (good or bad thing, you can decide). A lot of people aren't interested in attribution and just want to take part in discussions on the internet. Also, anon-posting gives you the opportunity to get better at having online discussions. Everybody sounds like a troll now and then, you need to feel like it's not attached to your identity to really express yourself. The quality of youtube comments is not going to go up, and people are just going to start using fake "real names".

Which apparently amazon has a trademark on anyway: https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?ie=UTF8...

jamesu• 14 years ago

It's a good thing all real names are unique and easy to remember...

drucken• 14 years ago

This change has been a positive development for me.

It made me realise that in all my many online identities, 51 at last count, I use my real name in exactly one online service provider (excluding banks) - a non-Google email service for "In Real Life" communication.

Just now, I changed this service profile to safeguard against the consequences of future copycat Google+ -like forced changes.

Thanks for the heads-up, HN'ers!

naner• 14 years ago

Of course that may be YouTube (and Google's) whole point for making this change. "skipro865" calling you an "ugly douchebag" doesn't quite have the same feeling as having "George Jones" call you an "ugly douchebag".

This is almost certainly not the case. If nasty comments were problematic Google could ban badly behaving users or take other measures. Accountability and identity are not the same thing, Google is pushing for identifying you not making you more accountable. Google has other motives likely related to building more accurate profiles for advertising and building out Google+.

YouTube Pushing Users Switch To Real Names

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