Anonymity in the early internet
Since the early days of the internet, anonymity online has been a common practice. This essay will explore the reasons as to why people used fake nicks and handles as a form of anonymity as well as the way in which Usenet and IRC encouraged anonymity. The protocols that were used in the early days will be explained as well as contrasted against online communication that is currently used today.
Usenet was one of the first world-wide discussion systems that came into effect in 1980. It was a collection of notes or messages, also referred to as posts that had been submitted by users on various subjects. Each collection of posts on these various subjects were referred to as a newsgroup (Usenet, 2007). Usenet originally
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This allowed the safekeeping of personal information but also allowed for unjust hate speech. However, as we move into the 21st century, we see a dynamic shift and increase in personal information online. More people began taking credit for their online actions to connect with people that they trusted and online anonymity became viewed as untrustworthy. Many online sites today, such as Facebook and LinkedIn, encourage the use of personal information to connect with people that are known to each other. This also became advantageous for companies who now have the ability to build profiles on a potential applicant by looking at their social media accounts and allows for more personal judgement to be exercised (Unknown, 2012). Instant messaging sites and applications like Facebook and WhatsApp use XMPP (Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol) or customised versions of this protocol, which facilitate a modern form of online …show more content…
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