Caterina Fake on pseudonymous internet use

WHY GOOGLE CARES ABOUT REAL NAMES, CTD: Caterina Fake, the founder of Flickr (among other companies), weighs in: "Pseudonyms are not in themselves harmful. Yes, they can be used for harm, as when people use them for anonymous, slanderous attacks, trolling, etc., but in the vast majority of cases there is no harm done. Importantly, they can serve to protect vulnerable groups. There’s even a comprehensive list of people harmed by Real Names policies. In the cases where pseudonyms are being abused, it is the harm that should be stopped, not the pseudonyms." I get her point, but still stand by my original opinion.

THE JOYS OF PSEUDONYMOUS WRITING: In the New Yorker, Joanna Kavenna explores Irish novelist John Banville's alter ego, Benjamin Black. (Requires a subscription, I'm afraid; I recommend iPad reading.)