I honestly don't see any benefits of getting rid of online anonymity. It means you can see the name and the identity of the troller, but I mean in the end online anonymity gives the world a whole new experience of freedom. People aren't afraid of speaking their mind now that no one knows who they are. Speaking your mind no longer comes with any other consequences other than a few harsh comments and a couple of trolls! The best thing to do about the trolls is just to ignore it. They don't know who you are so they can't harass you unless they're spoken out to. Online anonymity also gives us ranting space! We can enter a chat room without anyone knowing who we are and rant about how much we hate our boss! Maybe that's not the best way to spend your time, but if you're extra angry that day then go ahead.
However, there is always something bad that comes with the good. Online anonymity limits "crime fighting" on the internet, saying that sources are unreliable because they are anonymous. False information is also an effect of anonymity. Sources are always jumbled up and can never be trusted due to trolls posting false information. Spam is also due to anonymity. Our emails are always overrun by spam mail. We can't even do anything about them!
I think the benefits outweigh the cons of online anonymity by a lot. We've learned to take care of online anonymity problems. In my experience I've never really had any problems with anonymity. Sure I get these spam mails, but I just move past them without it being too much of a problem. I've learned to ignore and deal with most of the problems and I think the cons aren't that big of a deal compared to what the pros bring to us.
I agree that online anonymity could be a good thing and that it gives us the opportunity to say what we want to say. Go freedom of speech! But I also believe that are many negative outcomes of online anonymity and that they out weigh the good.
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