Your opinion On: Anonymity in Internet by Paulo Coelho

[Simon5005]

I think the Comments section on YT should be done away with. What is it anyway, but a way for people to express what they feel about something (usually extremely superficial), which the vast majority don't really care about, anyway. It's also become a breeding ground for vile, nasty kids to flame others, for no good reason, other than for the reason they can do it without repercussion. And it also goes to show, there's a LOT of people out there that never should have been allowed to reproduce.

[csaunders85]

Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth.

[FatherElectric]

This vid is retarded.

Internet anonymity is not about hiding. It's the opposite. It's about openness.

The "real world" isn't real. We are all playing roles.

I noticed in your vids, you are dressed up, speaking to the camera, and obviously trying to project a dignified "image" (although it looks really fake and stupid to me) . It's this obsession with image that anonymity tears down

Some of us just want to be comfortable in our own skin. Anonymity allows us to do that.

[djaychannohatsukoi]

@FatherElectric Pal do we know you?

[LucarioLuck]

We don't hide behind anonymity, we thrive with it. When we are under the guise of Anonymous we are striped of our "fake" personalities. We no longer feel the need to act a certain way to make people feel a certain way about you. We are all striped to our true personalities. We become one conscience. This way we may see the true face of humanity.

[Th3Wab3]

@LucarioLuck if that is the case anonymity sounds a lot like a crutch similar to using drugs.. i personally think a life where we are able to do and realize the things that u mentioned without anonymity is a better lived life. granted this takes a lot of personal courage but i think you can agree with the proverb nothing ventured nothing gained.. what do you think?

[lu32blue]

I dont have my name on my profile and I dont have an excuse for it. Like me many people have signed into youtube so you can join debates or simply comment on videos. I dont like to swear or insult people, but I have been insulted personally by others for the simple fact that I dont share the same views.

Why not try to understand from other people perspectives. why do you have to beaccused of all sorts not just by strangers but also people who are supposed to know you.

[Estonian7]

Well...My opinion...This stincks.I mean insulting other people on net...But I personally don't do it,AND if You wanna check my name,just click my nickname... Rasmus

[benbutt321]

There isn't a solitary person out on the net who has, at one time or another, put forth an image that is not 100% who that person is. Anonymity happens in degrees. You can reveal part or all of yourself on the internet and that is your right. There is no rule that says people have to reveal everything about themselves on the internet and this includes attaching an ID to an opinion. Using a different name is fine. The words are what is important. Use your debating skills and be smart.

[victorlawsonii]

Whats wrong with being empowered by anonymity? People who use their real identities must often hold back their true thoughts in fear of retaliation or punishment or to try to please others. This is why they become anonymous. Being anonymous gives a guy the strength to say what is in his heart. Dark. Light. Médio This is the internet. It is not real life. Different opinião apply. People should be spending more time in their real lives. The internet is a release and escape.

Victor II.

[rathowie]

The dark side is only one side that can be illustrated through anonymity on the internet. People aren't just two sided. - good or bad. We are MANY faceted with millions of reasons for doing things. To pass a single judgment on all who express opinions anonymously is a form of bigotry. Unless we know what is going on within that person, we should not judge. Maybe the person is afraid or in danger. It is ok if the person does not want public exposure. Different rules apply on the net.

[blubomber111]

Anonymity is a safety net for a lot of people. There are opinions that can result, for example, in one's being fired from a job, if expressed openiy. Worse yet, there are opinions that can result in oppression, beatings, physical and emotional harm. What about those who simply don't wish their opinions to be known by those with whom they react in real life and feel safer remaining anonymous? Usually it is the bully who claims that the anonymous are cowards.

[arturemarcelo]

For me that's not a dark side of us as you saying, not allways, how about a white side? Opening your mind and heart to peopple that you may never see, share feelings etc.. Sometimes for privace,Sometimes for fun, Sometimes for carelles.

[LeaCanova]

I think the people who use nicknames are afraid, or the people who do not allow you to know who they are or e-mail them are also. When I am on yahoo answers, sometimes people will insult me over little things and not allow me the option of messaging them. Lea Canova is my business name, so I use this since my real name is being changed.

[LeaCanova]

To be honest, I used to use my name but now in America employers are able to look at your facebook and other supposedly personal accounts. It is kind of annoying because I was raised with many different cultures, so to me it is not a bad thing to videotape my nephews playing with a shopping cart outside the mall, but now if I post such a thing in this country I may get in trouble if I try to apply for a job as a teacher for children.

[8Mosadogg8]

and have the courage to reveal their name if their stated opinions have hurt beyond the confines of translation limits and the standards of internationally recognized human rights.

[8Mosadogg8]

so many times the freedom of speech is used in anonymity and words can be interpreted as constructive or destructive based on point of view. However for example when words have the results that a whole community discards an innocent person or object I feel it has gone far too far and the hurt of people who experience that is quickly forgotten if ever realised by the one who originally spoke these words. It can take decades to balance. Each and everyone should be responsible for themself

[loukasthekid]

there is a movie called 3 IRON by Kim Ki-Duk.even by only watching the trailer you are moved.the main character in the story tries to live as a ghost but still interacting with people's lives without being noticed. i believe this movie is great and has alot to say.

[aneladgam]

a golden filter being: the option to remain faceless can be used as a clear conduit for getting an idea across without the filter of implemented cultural and social standpoints. without knowing who created the energy- you base the energy on itself alone. the medulla of thought. the implications of what can, has, or will arise from such creative flexibility are boundless if we are fortunate enough to maintain the freedom to do so.

[loukasthekid]

freedom.sounds so beautiful,something to long for,even with the anonymity and unvisibility from society and culture are we really free?when can one say i am free,self thought can be quite tormenting on its own.how can we become able to endure the boundless and unlimited creativity since living in a dual world the freedom could be projected without our will to a negative darker side,maybe we need to embrace both darkness and light or should we stay in between?are we afraid to be different or

[loukasthekid]

or is it better to work in silence trying to do good as an uknown mystic hero?will there ever be peace and could we maintain it?by hating someone who caused pain who was did wrong to people arent we becoming like them ?

will there ever be justice or is the self recognition the only justice?so many questions ,i do not know.

[loukasthekid]

everyone has different opinions .being scared to stand for an opinion is different from chosing to stay anonymous not to cause upset of people close to you because in the end you realise that understanding why different people have different opinions is a greater attribute than going on a revolution against everyone opposing your opinion even if you are correct.personally i try to be neutral at most subjects and concentrate on helping when i feel there is something i could do to

[thereeyegoes]

Anonymity is good. Nicknames often make me laugh as they are a creative invention of how you wish to represent yourself. There are many twisted & wicked people on this globe who could potentially do a lot of damage with little info they may have of you. Some people hide behind their nickname - writers hide behind pseudo's. Anonymity means you are not found by the people that you don't want to be found by and can choose to only give details to the people you trust and.. what's in a name!?

[sannimaarit]

I've used sannimaarit for all logins and heard that someone else is using it too. It is my real name and I have no reason to hide myself. I've seen some sad and nasty examples by weak people who have hidden themselves online and forwarded stupid gossips etc. It is exactly as you said, by being open we have to take responsibility over what we say. However I have used certain contacts to remove my postings as I received some extremely stupid accusations from people who were not able to discuss.

[Mymyjana81117]

I used to know people who hide behind more than one nickname on the internet. Moreover, they become that other "person" when on line as opposed to real life situations. To me, in greater percentage, that's equal to having big issues about who you really are and about what other people may think of you when they get to know you a little bit better.

It would be acceptable, I think, if those people wouldn't use that sort of "freedom" on insults, racial prejudices and bad comments!

[ilariariX]

I think that those who do not have the courage to expose themselves to a simple discussion into a mere criticism or a simple comment is not sure whether or not having the courage to put himself in quite some discussion or maybe even do it for cowardice

[ilterocktive]

Sometimes we write things that we don't want to be remembered with. What we wrote 2-3 years ago may sound funny, irrelevant, and biased to ourselves today.

Are we ready to face the 'version' that we might not like in the future?

I think the internet came into such an age that we all know that we can turn back and see our weakest spots, and the behaviour of the unexperienced child once lived with us.

Not everyone is mature enough to say "Yeah, I was not right back then" :)

[melssitub]

As we influence more and more as individuals, we seem to have the need to build our identity by searching who we really are. Some people seem to be very young souls that are not able to grow no other way than to make things the hard way, and beeing aggressive about smtng is part of the process. The people (celeberties) who are open with their oppinions unfortunately the same time put themselves out there also for negative feedback. They are the lights who helps people who dont know.

[nincumpoops]

It is two things. One it is Good because of security, this of course is for those neutral people who, don't cause harm to people, but is protecting themselves from those who can harm them, like Identity thieves. The other is the bad side, it is because some people might leave bad commenting to other people who doesn't know them, some might even stalk other people on the internet. Anonymity is a topic that should be taken seriously not only by the people, but by the authorities as well.

[merooo5000]

i think it's a sign of weakness, as the one who does that is probably weak or ashamed of his own opinion.... i think in this case ppl have only two options , the first is to have enough courage to face all the world with their opinions & to defend their freedom of thoughts , & the second one is to shut their mouse & their minds as well & never bother other ppl with their weakness , dishonesty & double faced personality

[drumy2]

It`s my opinion that the bad comments in anonymous form isn`t a problem of Internet, it's a problem of responsability.

Many persons hide their behavior with anonymous. But, other persons use anonymous because they don't like their names or because this is very common and it's a problem in the page that they are visited.

The Internet is a form of free expresion, their use depends only from the user.

Carnaval is a oportunity for show a fan preference or diversion, but bad use is posible. Choose.

[nadinewalid]

A person should stand behind what he believes in, not matter what

[sergesig]

I totally agree with you. All my e-mail addresses contain my name. I do what I preach. But, I would understand someone living in a contry where freedom of speech is not protect by authorities, that he/she would use a pseudonym to express to protect its life and his ability to care of his family. Understand I found unacceptable to use pseudonym to express ourselves in the "western world" , even on Youtube ;-)

Serge Sigouin

[nadinewalid]

I believe that if a person is honest and believes in his/her comments, then he/she should sign by his/her name. A person should stand behind what he believes in no matter what.

[Malato1951]

Although I am Portuguese and therefore could /should write my opinion in a language that we both share, I chose to do it in English so that everybody understands.

I fully agree with you, people who want /need to express their opinions should have the courage to identify themselves.

So here is my opinion as a great fan of yours - You're one of the best writers ever.

Maria Fernanda Martins Ferreira

[aira9art]

many reason could be for one wanting to hide their identity ... we live in a ill world.

I agree with Paulo one must stand next to their opinion but not everyone has something to say and words are used and abused daily on the net by delusional idiots of all age groups

[bianklec]

Ups I meant inappropriate. I would also like to add with all of that comes the offensive expressions for example the message of totallyllamalicious... Truth is we never know who is hiding behind the computer.

Obrigado Paulo!

[bianklec]

Even though I think internet is one of the best thing that could ever happen their is a negative side to it. I feel that today's young generation has lost the natural way of growing up and learning and has gained the acceleration of this process trough the internet. When I was a kid it was all about playing and running outside until I lost my breathe. Today it is all about internet and the "cool" things that you can find. Unfortunately most of those things are unappropriated 4 that age.

[robwgibbons]

In a true democracy, freedom of speech is essential. Unfortunately, most people don't often truly exercise that freedom, because of social stigmas. Anonymity on the Internet breaks down those social stigmas and inhibitors, and provides a forum for uncensored extremes of opinion. To take away the anonymity of the Internet would be to cripple what is arguably the greatest platform for true social democracy.

[CristinaBersani]

Excuseme for my English... I think that if a person want to speak something about another one or about a topic, he has to put his name at the end of message. I don't use nikename. I don't want to be anonymous. I believe in my ideas.

[ocwh]

You got me (and the person who replied some minutes ago). This is an important topic, i think we should rewind 20 years, and think of how we would replied is someone wanted to be anonymous then. I anonymity on the net is no good, and agree with vibestarr2713 that some seem to loose their respect when they enter this media. Children should stay anonymous though......sadly... (Sorry about my Nor-English)

[TotallyLlamalicious]

Why don't you suck a cock? Come find me. I'm behind 7 proxies.

[scafarafa]

We have a saying here in Dutch football fan circles for people that hide on the internet behind a nick name and hurl all sorts of abuse, internet hooligan.

I feel that in some cases anonymity is necessary, due to my market research background, but in others a safe haven for the cowardly.

[vibestarr2713]

I like to hold to the idea that if you wouldn't feel comfortable saying something to someone's face, you shouldn't say it online. People seem to lose all sense of self and morals once they turn on the computer and let themselves become these base caricatures of themselves online. I choose not to live that way. I prefer to live my life the same way on and offline.

[frenzyhunter]

Like freedom of speech, privacy and anonymity on the internet are freedoms/rights which can come with a negative aspect, but should be respected nonetheless.

[oceanbirth]

I don't use my name when leaving positive feedback because there are 'psychos' who respond to comments negatively, and I would not want them to know who I am. So, it is not only to leave negative comments that people use anonymity. As for those who spew hatred via the internet...they are sad individuals and at least we can delete their comments.

[didibiatch]

i think the people who ''hide'' and leave ugly comm. are just cowards! and lazy:P

[Andragonfly]

There can be so much nastiness sometimes on message boards!

Some people insult each others and they get banned eventually when it gets too much.

They probably just move on to another message board and carry on much the same and spoil it for others.

Keep well and don't worry about it too much: there will always be grumpy ones!

:) :) :)

[RudyDestine]

those of us who really have something to say now have to use media's like the internet in order to get our points across, without making targets of ourselves to most others who don't understand our view. in turn, the people who don't understand challenge us, using the same media and the same way because they feel it's easier to be more assertive without having to answer to it in real life.