In real life, we're all pseudonymous

I answered Botgirl Questi's comments about pseudonymity (here and here) with a wisecrack (here), and she challenged me to say something serious (here).

Second Life's custom of pseudonymity is actually a lot like how the real world works. It's the transparency of the flat Internet that's weird, not Second Life.

I'm writing this at a coffeeshop. If I choose to strike up a conversation with the guy sitting at the next table, he and I will each decide how much personal information to divulge. We'll each decide whether to share our full names, where we live, our professional backgrounds, marital status, where we grew up, religion, politics, and do forth. It's a dance most of us do instinctively; we call it "small talk."

That's a lot like Second Life, except in SL we also use made-up names. If the guy at hue next table and I exchange names, we'll use our real names. Probably. Unless we have nicknames. Or he might just give me a fake name, and if he does, how would I know? It's not like I'm going to ask for government-issued photo ID.

On Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and other flat Internet sites, your biography is a matter of public record. But it's the flat Internet that's strange in that regard - not Second Life.

I use my RL name, Mitch Wagner, in Second Life. To my knowledge, there's only one other person in Second Life who does that. I do it so that my SL and RL professional identities are linked. But I recently created an alt for SL play. The name is extremely similar to my RL name. Some of my SL friends know my alt's name. It's no big secret. But my RL identity doesn't appear anywhere in my alt profile, and I find I rather enjoy the pseudonymity.

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