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| YouTube pulling your real name from your Google+ account. |
I went to make a comment on a YouTube video today and was welcomed with the above pop-up from YouTube basically telling me to "Start using your full name on YouTube" with an example of what my current YouTube account appears like ("jimyounkin") and how it will appear ("Jim Younkin III"). It appears in the image above that YouTube (owned by Google) is pulling your "real name" from your Google+ account.
I already use my "full name" on my YouTube channel but judging from almost every other YouTube channel name I've ever seen I am severely in the minority. Most people don't have their "real name" on their YouTube channel.
Read on past the jump for a few more screenshots of the popup dialog boxes YouTube (and by extension Google) is using to try to push "YouTubers" into using their real names.
Privacy? What Privacy!
I find this change especially tone-deaf mainly for the fact that the majority of users are likely to not want to make this drastic a change. Going from something like "skipro865" to "George Jones" sure does remove some of the "distance" that online pseudonyms afford.
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| Examples of your real name next to your YouTube videos. |
Haters Gonna Hate
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".
While removing anonymity may make some YouTube commentors (often held up as one of the most trustworthy examples of the Internet Fuckwad Theory at work) think twice about sprewing bilious nonsense all over YouTube videos, if previous attempts to "unmask" users for the sake of curbing "bad behavior" are any indication, YouTube/Google may be have an uphill battle on their hands.
That said, hasn't Google already gone down this street before?
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You're asked to give reasons why you won't use your real name.
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Me?
What will I be doing? Will I be using my "real name" on YouTube? Most likely since I already do but what if I didn't really want to? Perhaps I'll press the "I'm not sure, I'll decide later" button in the image above and wait for the backlash that is more than likely to come and wash away the feature from the site altogether.
Will you use your "real name" on YouTube? Why? Why not?
Google's approach is reasonable. Pseudonyms enable low quality commenting ("ugly douchebag", "you're awesome!") and is not helpful to the web. Up/down voting along with mechanisms to ensure thoughtful commenting such as those implemented by Disqus (http://disqus.com) carry much more value. Google and other's are wise to follow Disqus's approach.
ReplyDeleteSome of us enjoy our anonymity, our right to privacy, and how the internet allows us to sincerely express ourselves in a free way without having to worry about repercussions or judgement you ugly douche bag.
DeleteAlso fuck Disqus. Minority opinions deserve to be heard clearly too. Ugly douchebag.
Right, because nobody can ever give a fake name. This will totally prevent low quality comments.
Delete@Tim And for those people, YouTube is giving them an option to keep their username. I dont get why everyone is freaking out over this. Nobody is forcing you to change your name.
Deletebecause you unable to comment if you refuse
Deleteand your unable to go to the settings to accept the change because you don't have the option to change to real name after you refuse well thats my story
Delete@Ari Herzog While that sounds good on the surface I think the real reason is to make us more attractive to advertisers. The more places they can have our real names the easier it will be (and more lucrative) to sell our information to advertisers.
DeleteAlso the my guess it the majority of the YouTube community likes pseudonyms.
@tim peterson sounds like a Liberal.
Delete@Jim Younkin I hope no one is fine with them doing that.
No its not reasonable at all. Its a very simple freedom people have. Its a chioce I make to not want to use my real name online. If the benefits of pseudonyms online have to be explained to you your an idiot. Hows that for low brow commenting. In my opininion anybody who who supports this as anything other than an option is nieve and a douch. i dont want everyone everywhere I use my google+ account to know my real name thats just common frigging sense people.
DeleteI don't want to put on a show, I don't want the world to see how wonderful I am, I just want a quiet corner to express myself without people swooping in and bothering me.
DeleteIt shouldn't be about what it good for the web. Youtube would not exist without the people who should have to write to display their names how they want.
DeleteI use my real name, however, what I really resent is being forced to use Google+. I don't want, nor do I have the time to engage in Facebook, Twitter or Google+.
DeleteEven Disqus DOESN'T require you to use your real name. I find it disgusting to compromise privacy for sake of nothing more than "quality" searches according to Google
DeleteI know I'm late chiming in, but I don't see why user names are necessary; all this transparency merely makes people a bigger target. Personally, I keep my posts useful, encouraging, and honest -- in an eloquent and sensitive way. My "anonymous" posts lead back to my real email with my real name and my real address and phone number. If google/youtube ever needs to warn me, or shut me down, due to my inappropriate use of language... well, they know where to find me, but thankfully, as a single mom, the added level of protection afforded me from would-be stalkers, allows me to express myself fully while not having to worry about my and my child's personal safety.
DeleteP.S. Ivette, having google+ doesn't mean you need to use it. Best to have accounts with your name/moniker even if you do not use them, than to need them and find your handle has been taken by one of the billions of internet users on the planet. Peace.
I will give Google+/Youtube, and any other 'business' operating with people out there in the ethers, a real world example of how this works. Ebay allows the use of monikers and aliases when you are creating an account (one where currencies exchange hands!!! which says something right there.) All the accounts at ebay at one point or another, are VERIFIED. Yep... that's right. Verified. To a bank account, a credit card... something that definitively identifies you as who you, behind the nickname, claim to be... "I am the great and powerful OZ..." but if you look behind the curtain you can find the real me pulling all the levers. Google should relax. Youtube should relax.
DeleteReal names simply aren't required. Why aren't YouTube users simply turning on COMMENT MODERATION? Every week I check my pending comments, and approve, deny, or delete comments, one by one. It's really no big deal, and allows me to keep the comments(and video responses) on my videos cleanish, even the negative-but-not-nasty ones. If I cared about _comment_ volume, I'd check every day, or every hour. My choice, not Google's.
ReplyDeleteLet's assume you're a somewhat small (NorthernLion is my example) youtube - only about 9 million views total. He uploaded a video 30 minutes ago, and it already has 100 comments. Alright, sure, 100 comments isn't bad.
DeleteYogscastSjin (21m views) has 1.3k comments on a 13 hour old video.
TotalBiscuit (267m views), on one of his HyperWTF videos, has 1.6k comments on a one day old video.
None of those numbers are even close to what BlueXephos get. That channel has 1.1 BILLION views. How many comments does their one day old video have? Nineteen and a half THOUSAND.
So sure, as a smaller youtuber, you can turn on comment moderation. But it's simply unrealistic once you start getting fairly large.
Ok, but by that point do the comments even really matter? They're being submitted and buried at such a rate that the whole comment system seems rather pointless. What are the odds that a comment on a video like that will even be seen? And even when seen, it's even further unlikely that anyone will care what it says. An interesting thing about comments systems in general is that it's very existence leads the user to assume that someone actually cares what they have to say, when that is rarely ever the case. (I am well aware of the irony.) People comment on youtube videos because they can, and being able to do so contributes to the misguided sense of self-importance that is all too common in internet culture.
DeleteTo be truthful, if I had my way, all YouTube comments would go away. However, I guess if I were merely to modify the existing system, I'd want YouTube to firstly show any comments made by people I know, either from Facebook or G+. Then, I'd want the ability to narrow down comments in meaningful ways - geographically might be interesting or maybe based on the site you linked from, so if I follow a link from Reddit, I see comments from users who followed that same link. You could even collect demographic information from users, at their discretion, and then allow users to sort/filter comments by certain parameters like age or sex.
I agree. I don't read YouTube comments. I really don't care what other people think about the content.
Delete"Ok, but by that point do the comments even really matter?"
DeleteAbsolutely. Can you imagine watching a sports game without comments? or listening to a lecture but not being able to comment or question? It's an absurd question. Being able to comment and ask questions does matter.
"They're being submitted and buried at such a rate that the whole comment system seems rather pointless."
It's not the comment system that's pointless. Rather, it's the design of the comment system which is faulty. If they designed a better comment system with better filters and prioritization, then there wouldnt be any issues.
"What are the odds that a comment on a video like that will even be seen?"
It's an irrelevant question. Removing the ability to comment/question/query is a serious handicap for anyone who wishes to learn and know more. Period.
"And even when seen, it's even further unlikely that anyone will care what it says."
Perhaps that applies to you and a small-minded minority, but my experiences and instincts tell me that there is a vast population of individuals out there who care to comment, read comments, and ask questions.
"People comment on youtube videos because they can"
Some do, but that's because they havent yet been schooled in the application of intellectual discourse and proper manners. What we need are frameworks and systems that help elevate human intelligence and well being. Once that happens, naturally you will see more humans begin to interact/comment/cooperate in intelligent and insightful ways.
Alex the Kid, you are a kid.
DeleteFrankly, I matter more than you, and that's why I'm responding to every sentence you wrote because my opinion is so strong.
Bravo, Alex.
DeleteThe nannification of America must stop.
Hey, I have a question for you. I happened by the "Update my name" button by mistake when this pop-up came for me but I really would like to go back to using my old name. Do you know how one can change one's youtube username?
ReplyDeleteI don't know, sorry. I chose to opt-out of it for now.
DeleteArnold - I did the same exact thing and decided I liked my nickname more but can't change back so WARNING TO ALL once you change the name to your real name, google/youtube does NOT let your return to your nickname.
DeleteIn this case I would say GOOGLE IS BEING A DOUCH BAG!
By the end of 2012 everyone will be using 2 accounts.
ReplyDelete1) real name account: post useful stuff + intelligent comments
2) fake name account: "you are a douchebag" stuff
People don't do that already, this is why using your "real name" for stuff online doesn't work, the people actually trolling and causing havok will still do it, they'll just use fake names, the only people who are affected are the people who'll put in their real name and the people who go to YouTube channels or just turning shit up in random comments and now if you did accept the real name and you're being targeted or if someone wants to target someone who has used their real name they are seriously compromised as it'll be so much easier to track down people IRL.
DeleteRemoving privacy and helping trolls & random attacks, thanks Google, it's "just" what you wanted.
Couldn't have said any better than this. It's disgusting the direction they are taking us in. It is not safe or wise.
DeleteI won't use my real name. I don't spew verbal diarrhea, harrass anyone with my comments, and/or don't behave like an internet douchebag. However, some of my opinions may be controversial and offensive to certain segments of society who ARE internet douchebags. I don't expect THEM to behave civilly, and don't want them to know my real name. Ironically enough, I'm posting this under my real name, but I'm not expecting any trouble from this post.
ReplyDeleteI feel much the same as John H.I don't want the crack pot posters finding and commenting on anything else I do or post .
DeleteAnonymity brings out the worst in people. I am all for everyone using their real name.
ReplyDeleteThis is the "don't do anything you would not do in church" theory of life. yeah, its crap.
DeleteSpeak for yourself.
DeleteNot necessarily. Using your real name on the internet can be dangerous, especially if you are young.
DeleteAnd just because you are anonymous does not mean you are a douche. You can be a kind, sweet, loving person with a fake name. You can even be innocent on 4Chan, believe it or not, there's no rule against it.
There is no set rule that EVERYONE who goes by an made-up name is a jerk. Nor is there a set rule that NOBODY who goes by a made-up name is a jerk. I varies from person to person.
Using your real name IS DANGEROUS, not "can be". Period point blank
DeleteIf I use my real name, a Google search of my name will immediately reveal everything I have said online, laying bare my opinions on controversial matters or my contributions to unorthodox groups. Do I want prospective employers and nosy acquaintances learning my deepest thoughts as stated on the internet? I think not.
ReplyDeleteI agree absolutely. The problem is once it prompts you to use your real name instead of an
Deleteopting out option it only gives the choice of choosing several different versions of your name such as first initial + last name, help??? I SHOULD have to choice not to, right?
Exactly.That is my concern also.I love being able to use YouTube,I'm not sure yet ,what I'd be able to accept .
DeleteI'm not going to use my real name. I'm going to continue using my nickname because I use the same nickname all over the internet, like on Twitter and IRC. You can quickly find my real name by googling my nick. Thus, my nickname isn't a cloak behind which I can post mean comments, it's just a convenient and consistent synonym for my name and face.
ReplyDeleteA Google search of my real name turns up zero results that are me, a Google search of my nickname turns up thousands of relevant results.
DeleteGuess which I'd rather use, my well recognised online name, or my given name I had no part in choosing.
What about people who's username is a "brand name" of sorts.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if Google has considered how this may negatively affect them down the road. When everyone can be tied to all of their online presence people will either
ReplyDeleteA-stop using the service, and move to a competing one.
or
B-Begin to pressure on Google for the kinds of Privacy rules that will kill their analytic's value.
This seems like a lot because some people don't like to be called "bad names"
Google probably has not thought of it, think about it, there is no place to complain about the privacy, no place at all, and using real names make people be able to find you and easily find you're location. End result? GOOGLE SUCKS.
DeletePrivacy and anonymity are two very different things. One is a requirement for thinking, feeling social creatures. The other is a requirement for vandals andw malcontents.
ReplyDeleteAs long as it stays voluntary I don't see an issue. I already have my blog, twitter, and etc. linked through my profile so it doesn't change anything, there's simply no reason for me not to want to display my name. I feel sorry for those who don't dare to stand up for the opinions they state on the internet in real life. If the opinions you state on your free time risks your employment or similar your country is quite of fucked up.
ReplyDeleteThere are quite a few valid reasons someone would choose to stay anonymous and many up them were discussed when Google+ launched with a "real names only" rule.
Delete-Protesters
-Dissidents
-Battered women
-Children
Pseudonyms are an important part of the internet. Just because I am fine with using my real name doesn't mean everyone is.
I believe that's the point. YouTube's attempts to push people into using their real name is engineered in such a way that it is *not* voluntary. I don't remember giving them my full name at any point, yet they've sourced it from other Google products and shown me they don't respect my privacy by doing so. Also, by not giving people a way to say "No. And no means no. It means it the first time I say it, now don't ask me again", they're putting themselves in the same category as stalkers that can't take no for an answer and keep on 'asking' a question again and again in the hope of eventually getting the answer they'd prefer. That's harrassment, plain and simple.
DeleteYou've said it better than anyone here: No means NO. That's the widely accepted rule for sex & should be for YouTube too. Asking over & over is harassment. YouTube is acting "too big to fail" with this, as Facebook has also done in disregarding and commoditizing its users. As Facebook started sticking its tentacles into every orifice of my life, I backed away and essentially said, "No thanks" and deactivated & may soon delete my FB. They think we won't leave because they're YOUTUBE. They're wrong. I've done it before & will do it again if it appears YouTube is going to damage its most precious resource that it sells -- US.
DeleteI don't post mean, hateful, vitriolic, etc. comments on youtube but I still would rather not have my real name floating out there. If google/youtube end up forcing users to do this, I think there will be a lot fewer comments on videos overall, as people tend to value their privacy and, like me, not want their real name plastered all over the Internet.
ReplyDeleteJFC those guys (and they are mostly guys) at google are slow learners. First they made everyone's email contact list public with google buzz, only to have to walk that RIIIIGHT back after tons of users gave them tons of legitimate reasons that was a really bad idea. Then they wanted to make google+ real name only, and it was another spectacular fail.
ReplyDeleteEvery time they do this whole "YOU REALLY WANT YOUR REAL NAME ON EVERYTHING" gambit, it makes me think there is some extrovert attention seeker who is the head of all their decisions about usernames.
While I think they will chalk it up to "troll reduction" on YouTube the sad truth is the more places they can have our real names the better they can package us up to sell to advertisers.
DeleteWhat about musician channels?
ReplyDeleteIn the final image above you can see they give you the option of the reason for opting out being that you are a musician.
DeleteAnonymity brings out the truth within people. Having to tend to your "social mask" or identity makes people moderate themselves. Now every single comment will be people auto-fellating themselves and their identity. I have many views and opinions that I would not share under my real name, out of fear for my own safety. Forcing youtube commenters to use their real names completely removes several topics from the discussion. And several view-points not becoming of the status quo will be drowned out.
ReplyDeleteYeah, sure the keyboard warriors with a chip on their shoulders insulting everyone under the sun will be more hesitant to fling vitriol. But several minority view-points will also be effectively erased from the web. I'd rather be subject to a few R-rated comments than have to fear real life repercussions from simply participating in an intelligent debate.
I already have my Google Plus account linked to my YouTube account, so anyone who want to know my real name can just check out my profile. And as some other people here have said, I want the same nickname all over the internet.
ReplyDeletejust dont comment and share stuff this whole social media bullcrap is so fucking stupid anyway ...
ReplyDeletefacebook,google+,twitter,myspace,etc. fuck that shit use a forum or icq or irc or mumble to communicate stop being stupid people use your brain ...
the internet is getting more and more retarded ...
only you can stop this movement!
great, so I can slander someone by registering with their name and making a bunch of racist/sexist/sacrilegious/homophobic remarks as if "I" don't care about the repercussions ? Brilliant.
ReplyDeleteAs if you can't do this now? Good work.
DeleteI am reposting my comment from Reddit here ; because I feel it was valid and I know that not all readers of your blog are inbound from the Reddit train.
ReplyDelete"one problem with real names is this .. the physical world is deeply complex ,convoluted and evolved from social interactions far beyond the planning and scope of a developer with a few sql tables and a unique record number.
Let us begin with what defines a real name ; simply assuming a western basis of forenames then surname is problematic because this is not a globally agreed cultural standard. family names, nick names, first names as second named, second names that look like surname .. the list is long and difficult to complete
Then we move to social conditions, people whose names are those which match celebrities who may be asked to choose another name because brand and copyright demand it.
People whose gender has changed and whose social situation requires an evolution of their name , their purpose.
People who seek anonymity beyond the realms of privacy or personal security.
People whose names are shared with recent tragic events who may share a physical locale and nothing more will be swept up in searches and comments.
Real Names will constantly fail online for no more reason than in the long term real names are just too damned hard to co-ordinate and deal with compared to allowing each of us to find our own unique identity and representation for this mode of communication.
Not because of privacy, not because of security, not for anonymity or protection but because corporations will want to exist in the same space and corporations do not have real names or a human relationship that is sought in this Real Name own goal that continues to be scored by the corporates."
Good job man. Glad to see you got something out of the book
ReplyDeleteWhile I didn't write this post specifically around what I read it was quite surreal reading the chapters in your book about how item "trickle up" while watching the reddit post and the pageviews.
DeleteI thought it would likely get a small by of viewing on reddit but watching it get picked up 30 mins after posting by a smallish tech blog (techradar) and the a slightly bigger blog (betabeat) which then got picked up by all sorts of blogs like Wired, Times and Forbes was exactly how you described.
At this point I'm more fascinated by watching the idea spread and the without the chapters in your book I wouldn't see the truth behind all the coverage.
Don't get me wrong. I don't agree with YouTube asking people to switch to real names and hope the momentum my post kickstarted will ultimately get YouTube/Google to reverse the policy, I have no illusions that the bloggers who parroted my post up the chain were found anything other than passing along a great hook of a story to boost page views.
I'm looking forward to finishing your book and had a strong feeling it will help me to look at all sorts of things I do with blogging in the future in a different (and hopefully more critical) way.
Keep it up!
PS, I loved your interview on Gweek.
I wouldn't bother. I use a variant of my email address and most people that watch my videos already know me in real life anyways so using my real name doesn't make a whole lot of sense. With that said some youtube celebrities are known by the rela names so I guess it's to each their own
ReplyDeleteThis is really stupid of YouTube because I am pretty sure the Trolls that make all the negative comments are NOT even using real accounts, so this doesn't even affect them. Typical it would only affect the honest users.
ReplyDeleteYou've hit the nail on the head. I venture their real reasoning has less to do with "stopping trolls" and more to do with making you more valuable to sell to advertisers.
DeleteI didn't say that but it is very coincidental that this should come out when YouTube is letting everyone have adsense. Even if you opt out for "valid" reasons like you have a show or character etc, you cannot reply to comments. So yeah, it's kinda annoying. So much so that I actually am looking for an alternative To YouTube and I never thought I would do that...
DeleteToo funny. I signed up with my real name on Youtube eons ago then along comes Google Voice and I chose an alias. Now G wants me to switch to my 'real' fake name???
ReplyDeleteFwiw, I was able to login to Google Voice, open a new tab and go to Google search and click the Youtube menu option and get to my account without the 'real name' popup. So for now it appears I can use my Youtube account without making the decision - real ... not real ;)
I really appreciate all the free stuff G provides so seems fair if they're finding ways to monitize us but sometimes it seems our lives are really being laid bare on the net and it looks like there will be no end in site.
Some employers have been asking prospective employees for their Facebook login - oops! Now how about a simple Youtube 'real name' search to totally kill that new job opportunity or worse score the Youtube login :(
I won't be using my real name because my youtube name is the name of my blog! besides my real name is on twitter under my blog twitter handle and in my 'about me' section of my blog.
ReplyDeleteIf google forces everyone to use their real name (if they don't have a 'valid' reason why they don't want to) I will no longer be using it and im sure many others will do the same.
It's SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) all over again, it will be an excuse to "control" the internet!
Hypothetical example, you are a maths teacher in highschool. You have a perfectly normal life with wife and kids. At your spare time, you have a hobby to paint custom barbie dolls and post it on youtube to show off your delicate artworks.
ReplyDeleteYou accidentally pressed "Use Real Name" button, 2 of your worst students in the class happened to see it and linked the whole vid channel to you. They started to spam you and called you "pedo" and in 30 minutes the message was spreaded to the whole class.
Next day, the school called you to stay home and your job is suspended until police investigation on your youtube channel vids is finished.
That was a very extreme example. But what if you got fired only because you post a message online to your friend saying you made an excuse not work because of a hang over from drinks?
What if you secretly made a bad comment about your manager, she or he saw your real name online. You lost your promotion chance for the next 2 years?
I was asked this today. I have no idea why they are pushing people to use their real names (as pointed out, people can easily make a fake "real" name). Sure, it MAY stop some people being assholes but think of the other side of it.
ReplyDeleteOh look, I now know that this person is a chick and I have her full name. (loads up Facebook) "Hey cutie, I saw your blogs on youtube and think you're hot. I'm also from X area, so I'll look out for you in that area! Maybe I'll buy you a drink or perhaps follow you down the street and hit on you, and if you show no interest I'll emorage and just rape you."
Sounds too dramatic? Anonymity exists for a reason on the internet: it is way too easy for lunatics to get personal information on people. Google is forgetting the most important point with regards to douchebags: it's in their nature. If they have access to people's personal information, they WILL abuse it. It's just giving the assholes of the internet more power...
Youtube can stop violating my privacy now. First they hassled me for my cell phone number. I told them no more than 10 times. Now they want my real name?
ReplyDeleteDon't people realize that everything you type into Youtube or Google can be tracked if you are logged in. I think Google's true goal is to match a profile to a personal name. Who knows what they will do with that information. Youtube/Google can shove off. I'm pretty angry with them at this point.
Um. My layout also changed with this. WHY?
ReplyDeleteI WANT SOME FREAKING PRIVACY! People are seriously retarded these days. "oh im just gonna put my name, phone #, address, and my email up for everyone to see." WHATS THE MATTER WITH PEOPLE! people are so amazed that they get blackmail, stalked, robbed, etc but its their own fault! screw google on this HUGE DICK MOVE! i want some privacy.
ReplyDeleteNo. I'm sticking to my username. If they don't like it, tough.
ReplyDeleteA person should have the right to choose his or her real name or an anonymous. If I wanted everyone to know my name, I would post it voluntarily. I have nothing to hide and treat everyone respectfully. However, when I have deliberately chosen to use an anonymous name, I don't feel I should have to be forced to use my real name. Eventually, everyone will have to use their real name with YouTube. That's a shame, because YouTube will lose a lot of users. They are stripping people of their rights to remain anonymous. Our rights are precious and no one has a right to violate them or force us to do something in which we are not inclined to do or feel comfortable in doing. Heck, at this rate. artists are going to be required to use their real names. But to set the record straight, most social site will require full name to be used, not just for selling your name so that your email address and physical address can be spammed with junk and unwanted solicitors, but also for law enforcement and creditors to be able to track people down. Law enforcement is on every social site and they are monitoring these sites closely. Now creditors have gotten into the act. I had someone contact me on my facebook page about someone I know. They did a correlation with my last name, which isn't a common name, and pretended they were a friend of this acquaintance. This person happened to be my exes cousin and I mentioned the email that this person had sent me. That is when I was told the person was a creditor and was trying to track down my ex inlaw. The person had left a number for them and I called that number. I was very polite but very clear and adamant about how tacky I thought their tactics were and told them under no uncertain terms that if they violated my page again, I would report them to consumer affairs. The person apologized but it still left a distaste in my mouth that they would stoop so low as to put someone's private business out there like that. This is what will happen once YouTube forces everyone to use real names. Like I said, I have nothing to hide, I treat everyone with respect, but I value my privacy and if I feel it is being invaded then, I will leave and go elsewhere. I am not the only one like this. Again if YouTube forces me or others like me to use their real name, then they will loose a lot of frequent users. A good site is about the end users. We are the stock holders. Owners of websites will do good to remember that. That's the first rule in basic website 101.
ReplyDeleteI've probably declined this option about 10 times already. I'm really getting tired of it popping up because I'm not going to make the change...
ReplyDeleteSome of us choose pseudo names also for online personas. I'm not a very confident person in real life and have found it easier to say what I like behind a mask. I refuse to put my real name on the internet. I do not want people to know what I think or what I have to say. I also run a channel and a character and an online persona that requires my pseudo name. Who is to say that Atomic Survivor is not my musical name, it's my pen name. It's a pen name for media. And just because it doesn't look like a regular name to them, it's my Youtube, Google, pen name. For my media.
ReplyDeleteI think that usernames are worth keeping... If law enforcement needs to gather information whether you are using a pseudonim won't matter - they have avenues available legally. However I do think that this may better enable as said above avertisers and fraudster a better foothold on unsuspecting people...
ReplyDeleteI was actually pleased to get that pop up but YouTube won't let me even put my real name - it just gives me an error message when I enter it. Ironically I am already using my real name its just all joined up together
ReplyDeleteSometimes the real name is not a real name. Probably only Adsense users can be identify correct by Google.
ReplyDeleteDoes nobody else find it ironic that YouTube is a company that itself is pretty well insulated and anonymous, but is insisting its users reveal their identities?
ReplyDeleteHave a complaint or issue with YouTube? There's no email, no user support, no technical support, no business address, no phone number...Just "Send Feedback," which, when you do, is responded with a generic "Thank you, but we can't respond individually to feedback" message. Fine, if they want to stay hidden behind their faceless, voiceless logo, but don't go pressuring users to step out of the shadows while they stay cloaked in in the aether. Oh, I'm sure not having customer service personnel makes sound business sense in keeping costs down and that utter lack of accountability to users had absolutely nothing to do with it (<--irony).
I'll keep my username as is, YouTube.
Anonymity encourages free thought and expression. I don't think I need to explain the importance of that.
ReplyDeleteFuture blackmail
ReplyDeleteI'll be in the middle of watching a video and they'll cut right in and interrupt with the notice of changing my current user name and replacing it with my real name and again it happens every time I try to sign in to my youtube account I keep declining and yet they persist sometimes I even get a notice that "this user name is no longer accepted" I'M SICK OF IT .The question is HOW DO WE STOP IT ?
ReplyDeleteYoutube comments are hilarious! Who cares if their pointless, their funny and serves as entertainment.
ReplyDeleteLook up NBA NBC theme song - top comment: "I play this song every time before I take a shit. It gets me so pumped up and focused". If I want to be informed, I'll visit reddit or the HP.
Does anyone know if it´s possible to delete the Google+ account and separate it from the Youtube account?
ReplyDeleteI´m so pissed off.
I had the same name for 5 years and now I have a name that I just came up with in order to get access to my account again, thinking that I´d be able to change it again anyway.
A name that IS NOT MY REAL NAME (FUCK YOU YOUTUBE ONCE AGAIN, thanks)
Is Youtube or Google eventually going to force everyone to take their real names (lol- right just like mine now)
Strangely enough, Google/YouTube mysteriously seems to have 'forgotten' to include a "No, I don't want to use my real name. Now piss off and don't bother me with this crap again." -button on their list of 'options'. God how I hate these creeps and the insidious little marketing scumbags that underlie their every action. Most companies don't need to remind themselves not to be evil. I guess some do.
ReplyDeleteExactly. I've probably been asked if I want to do this 15 times altogether, I'm starting to get angry, If they force it, I'll just boycott their services. I also like separate accounts for security reasons. Two accounts two user names, two passwords gives half the potential to get hacked. Now if your goggle account gets hacked, it's everything.
DeleteThere is a work around - you can still post in YouTube's comment section *without* changing your name. I'm not sure if this is still an active thread - if this posts, I'll come back and give details....
ReplyDeleteNo way in HELL I'm using my real name.
ReplyDeleteI don't spam on anyone & if I did the only way to stop me is by Capatchas or users reporting/flagging me as spam & eventually suspending my account, that's just the way it goes in every website.
Besides, I'm pretty sure Google is doing that as a head-start for collecting more personal info from their users...
Update: I see this week that Google has got around to not just hassling you for your real name when you log in to YouTube, but also every single time you try to make a comment now. I think it's time to move my blogger account over to WordPress and start using Photobucket instead of Picasa (which I only ever used in any case because Blogger imposed it upon users when the Google Monster bought them over). I can live with the one whole tutorial video I have invested in creating for YouTube not being available any more.
ReplyDeleteGoogle really is the most stalkerish company imaginable. When the Data Protection Act was drafted in the EU back at the turn of the millennium, these were exactly the type of antics it was meant to protect consumers against. Too bad EU politicians seem more interested in sending British citizens off to face questionable US ‘justice’ for running websites with opinions the US government doesn’t happen to like than in reigning in the privacy-invading antics of US companies that have got out of control and are taking liberties with EU citizens’ privacy again and again.
1984. It's here, and it’s now.
This "use your full name" business is atrocious from Google. What I really dislike about this is the way they force the user to give a reason for why they don't want to change their name from options that suit Google, not "because I damn well don't feel like it!" Then they remind us a hundred times to do it.
ReplyDeleteGoogle is playing a very dicey game. On the one hand they seem all gung-ho about preserving a user's privacy, yet on the other they force the full name rubbish on people. Signing up to Google+ through Android, one is asked "what name would you like to use?" This suggests one can use an optional kind of pseudonym, so one innocently signs up not knowing that this changes their Gmail Account name and all manner of other settings.
Once upon a time Google represented all that was good about the Internet - freedom and anonymity. Now they are become iron-fisted and pushy about everything (HEY! THIS IS IMPORTANT, GIVE US YOUR CELL PHONE NUMBER NOW!/ TELL US YOUR PROPER NAME SO THE WHOLE GODDAMN WORLD CAN KNOW RIGHT NOW OR WE WILL REMIND YOU A THOUSAND TIMES UNTIL YOU CAVE!), and seem to be wanting to strip people of their right to privacy while at the same time touting themselves as the upholders of personal protection.
The reason why people don't want their real name on any site for anyone to look at is for this reason right here.
ReplyDeletehttp://radaris.com/~James-Younkin/259738842
And I'm not in the US and this was found via google and radis to look up peoples data with just enough info.
I hope you don't mind me using your name as an example, of how it can be so easily abused.
I just tried to post a You Tube comment and it LITERALLY did not give me the option not to change. There was a "I don't want to" option on the first pop up, but then it asked "tell us why" with no way to close to popup. I tried to just click through and found myself 1 step away from surrendering my psuedonnym with no way NOT to change to real name.
ReplyDeleteThey're trying to force the issue.
By the way, in order to pulish this comment, I am being forced to associate myself with a media account with no option for anonymity
no way am i going to give my real name. i had an identity theft few years ago. took months to fix. i've been paranoid since.
ReplyDeletesome of my coworkers are particularly nosy & borderline stalkish.
some of my friends who are more trusty of google. as a result, i now known what they like; also the names of their friends & what they like. this makes me more paranoid.
google is is doing it for its own benefit in name of openness & civility.
regards,
Keep in mind that you're probably not the only "John Doe" in the world and that somebody with the same name, could ruin your good name.
ReplyDeleteI had a banker type in my name into their national computer and I couldn't believe it when almost 50 people came up with the same First and Last names.
I think the way they force this feature in your face right as you log in is totally invasive and obnoxious. Thanks for letting us comment on this subject. I just finished watching a cool video on youtube and I got all pumped up and really wanted to post a comment in support of that youtube channel. So I tried to log in and all of a sudden I'm being redirected to a set of windows that are forcing me to make a critical decision right then and there that regards my online privacy and exposure. Excuse me? And they want the answer right now? They don’t provide a “skip” button nor do they provide an “Ask me later” button.
ReplyDeleteI continued thru a couple screens and started getting pissed as it was not what I planned on doing right then. I backed out a couple screens and it ended up just spinning me between windows. I ended up out of the browser and said … just as well. I felt like I was being detained by something like a Google Gatekeeper police, and I was being forced to answer a bunch of questions and … is that even legal?
By that time I forgot all about the excitement I had from the video and all about the post I wanted to make and that messed up my happiness and invaded my privacy rights. I just could not come to terms with that serious invasion of privacy.
I want to also point out how invasive Google has been of late in our GMAIL accounts with their idiotic feature of forcing their own labels in order to sort our private email messages. Wow Seriously Gmail? The only way they can possibly sort anything is by snooping in the text of our emails. And the worst thing is you can’t stop it. I tried everything to disable the settings and uncheck the boxes and hide the labels and all to no avail. It is being forced upon me and there is no setting that works to disable it. I already organized my account my way and what gives them the right to force their labels on me? OMG!
The ironic thing about their LABEL FEATURE FAIL is that Google has already been great at keeping the junk mail out of email accounts. These generic labels that they are forcing us to use now would only be applicable to messages that Gmail is already screening out of the account for years now. So in actuality the fact that I can’t get that feature to stop is giving them some excuse to downright snoop thru my important emails that are NONE OF THEIR BUSINESS. I find myself working harder each day to undo the labels and checkmarks that they are forcing on me. Sheer Ridiculousness!
Thank you kindly for letting me chime in. :)
I totally agree and felt exactly the same way. Since the PRISM and NSA business I've tried to spread my accounts across more services. I feel I've let Google become too important to my online life. I've been moving as many accounts and services as I can off of Google. It's hard sometimes but I feel better with each service I replace. Unfortunately some services like YouTube have no really viable alternative.
Deletei do have a gmail account but i don't use it.
Deleteso i didn't realize the new "feature" of gmail. wow
i also spread my on-line accounts across different services as much as possible.
but resistance is futile. as long as one's friends associates/family still use gmail. sigh.
those morons.
I did not even login just viewed a video.Who thinks using your real name online is a a good idea? Thanks all just enter them here and give me a day or so to look up your personal records. Your name would be easier to use if you would leave your Mothers name also thanks again.
ReplyDeleteMy main concern is that I need to post business content for my firm's YouTube channel, but now I have to do it with my personal account.
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone have any work-arounds yet? I tried setting up a fake gmail and fake google+ but then google sent me an error message saying my name didn't look real. [I used a version of my firm's name to make it look human.] I'm kinda at a loss at what to do next...
I don't want my private and professional life completely blended.
My guess is your few options are to set up a second google account with your name and use that to post the YouTube stuff. It may have your real name but the Google+ account wouldn't have any other info.
DeleteYou can create a Google+ page and be added as a administrator (or what get it is called) and possibly be able to post to YouTube as the page. (I do this when posting on G+ and leaving YouTube comments.
Third you can have a manager or other employee use their name and set up a Google+ account and have them share the login details with you so you aren't posting it under your name but theirs.
I've been using G+ since beta and went through the hassle of creating a "fake" Google+ account then having to add my real name instead of the fake name and finally (when it was introduced) making a Google+ page which I was able to pass off to my real Google+ account when I was able to finally post as he page and not myself.
Look into posting as the page and see if you can get that set up. Hopefully that will also allow you to do YouTube stuff as the page.
Good luck. Google sure has made a mess of G+.
1st You also didn't supply an option to comment without some account :( so I had to switch accounts because that account has no G+.
ReplyDelete2nd I kept my youtube name because I don't have G+ account yet, but this way every time I go to youtube, it is asking me to pick my old youtube name or the new (not yet existing) G+ name. annoying. But I comment on youtube (but not here)Maybe I picked the two "Different name" option to bypass that page, but then why is it keep coming up?!
3rd. Has anyone tried to delete the G+ but unlink first from youtube?! If you had an old username, you may be able to unlink it according to this page, but now I can't even get to youtube settings.
this here :)
ReplyDeletehttps://support.google.com/youtube/answer/2657858
I can't unlink it because it is not linked yet, but I can't comment on youtube right now because I can't bypass that page of name change.
ReplyDeleteThis is messed up. Google needs an alternative or they just do what they want :(
There is a way to prevent that persistent annoying YouTube prompt that asks you to switch to using real name. Read about it at http://techlivewire.com/2013/08/15/youtube-annoying-users-by-asking-them-if-they-want-to-use-real-name/
ReplyDeleteI am so pissed that they keep asking me to merge the youtube account with the Google account with my full name. I don't harass people on youtube at all. What I rest is that after me repetitively telling them NO that I didn't want to merge the accounts, they are now acting like I have TWO accounts, so if I am not careful to log in, then any videos or comments I make are under my full name.
ReplyDeleteI never authorized them to use my Google + account for my youtube activities. Never!
Google is invading our privacy for whatever reason could it be, i think the CIA is behind all this, they are lazy enough to track their enemies, so everyone is just a victim
ReplyDeleteActually, its not just google. everything that involves an account destroyes every shred of privacy you have.
DeleteGoogle/ Youtube already forced my name change. Tonight I refused it again but this time it went ahead and signed me out of my youtube account. NOW I CAN'T GET BACK INTO MY CHANNEL!!!! The only way I can use youtube is by my REAL NAME. I don't want the WHOLE WORLD knowing my real name. I WANT MY PROFILE BACK. Does anyone know how to do this?
ReplyDeleteunfortunatly, the only way you can is to not, untill they revise this you cannot change your username or anything. its so annoying.
Deletei kept saying NO.
ReplyDeletebut finally google/youtube still opened a google+ account without me consenting.
those wankers.
Same here too and my old pseudonym was totally deleted it seems without my permission or choice. FFS.. Un-Believable....actually this day n age totally but still not acceptable and I DON'T have to like it.
DeleteMe too! I suspect it was my little sister who clicked accept on YouTube but after nearly a year asking her she still says that she didn't accept the pop up. Since you brought it up, I too think that my YB name was changed without my permission.
DeleteMy thought being just a end user of you tube so to speak and in real life a very private person for reasons I DONT need to share and wonder why the hell it is anyone's business what my surname is ? And yes we are given option "maybe later" ...Where is option, mind your own fucking business ie: NEVER , stop asking or trying to control and trick me. Is this western world got any democracy or real individual choice anymore ? Also Twitter, Facebook and all of the rest options.. Not bloody interested. Just let me browse a few videos and support others opinions or ideas.
ReplyDeleteGoogle dont likes my name and asking me to change to my real name... maybe if you change your name to Booble il consider changing my name. otherwise fuck off.
ReplyDelete