Product Code Database
Nymwars was a series of conflicts over policies that mandate that all users of certain internet communications platforms identify themselves using their . The term is mostly associated with Google's name policies on Google+ and YouTube. Nymwars is a blend word composed from pseudonym and wars. The name appears to have gained prominence as the hashtag "#nymwars" on Twitter.
Conflicts regarding Google+ began in July 2011 when the social networking site began enforcing its real-name-only policy by suspending the accounts of users it felt were not following the policy.. , , and non-standard real names (for example, or names that include scripts from multiple languages) were suspended. The issue was settled in July 2014 when Google announced that it was ending its real-name-only policy.
A predecessor to the Google+ conflict was Blizzard's RealID which, starting in July 2010, exposes the name on the player's credit card, and is mandatory to use some game features (cross-game chat) and was nearly made mandatory to post on discussion forums.
These issues have existed since the beginning of online identity, and are related to the alleged online disinhibition effect. The resulting discussions have raised many issues regarding naming, cultural sensitivity, public and private identity, privacy, and the role of social media in modern discourse. The debate has been covered widely in the press including Wired, The Atlantic, and The New York Times..
The first suspensions for name-related reasons occurred in July 2011, and included Limor Fried's account, which included the name "LadyAda" (by which she is widely known), nerdcore rapper Doctor Popular, and LA Weekly and Los Angeles Times columnist A.V. Flox. Account suspensions over the following weeks included those who were using nicknames, handles, and pseudonyms; those whose legal names were unusual, including users; and some users who Google mistakenly believed were impersonating famous individuals, such as Facebook employee and Mozilla founder Blake Ross, and actor William Shatner.
Awareness of the issue grew rapidly, via Twitter, Google+ itself, and a variety of media outlets. By early August, the Electronic Frontier Foundation had posted "A Case for Pseudonymity" in response to the issue.
Google initially responded on 25 July when vice president Bradley Horowitz promised improvements to the suspension and enforcement process. On 17 August, Google implemented a "grace period" before suspension, and on 19 August, a "verified account" program for celebrities and high-profile users.
On 19 October 2011, at the Web 2.0 Summit, Google executive Vic Gundotra revealed that Google+ would begin supporting pseudonyms and other types of identity within a few months. "Victory! Google Surrenders in the Nymwars", Eva Galperin and Jillian C. York, Electronic Frontier Foundation, 19 October 2011 However, as of the 16 October 2012 policy documents, Google still required that participants "Use your common first and last name" adding "our Name Policy may not be for everyone at this time."
On 15 July 2014, Google indicated that the real-name policy was being ended, announcing that "Over the years, as Google+ grew and its community became established, we steadily opened up this policy, from allowing +Page owners to use any name of their choosing to letting YouTube users bring their usernames into Google+. Today, we are taking the last step: there are no more restrictions on what name you can use."
Google offers support and assistance to anyone whose profile has been suspended, including an appeal process, and a referral to their Content Policy. If an account is suspended, users will not be able to access Google services that require active profiles, such as Google Buzz, Google Reader, and Picasa. They will, however, be able to access other Google services such as Gmail.
Google suggested that their naming policy may not have been for everyone, and recommended if a user chooses not to comply, to make a copy of their Google+ data, and leave.
In August 2011, Google CEO Eric Schmidt was quoted as stating that Google+ was intended as an identity management service more than as a social network, and that the use of real names would be necessary for other planned Google products based on this service. He also asserted that "the Internet will work better if people know that you're a real person rather than a fake person"..
Google vice president Bradley Horowitz (in a Google+ post on 24 January 2012) announced that Google is updating its policy "to broaden support for established pseudonyms". However, the updated policy has been criticized for being too vague concerning what is an "established" pseudonym, and insufficiently flexible to protect online privacy.
Criticisms have been wide-ranging, for example:
In November 2011, Facebook suspended Salman Rushdie's account, and then reinstated it under his little-used first name Ahmed, before backing down and restoring it to his preferred name.
In the fall of 2014, Facebook began requiring to change their Facebook identities to their legal names, notably including performer Sister Roma. This is reported to be the work of a single person systematically reporting them.
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