Who says a "Real Names" policy any significant impact on a harasser? It certainly wouldn't impact an offline harasser (except by making it easier to find their targets offline, of course).
And how many of the serious online harassers would really be deterred by it? I suspect that many or even most of the people who would be deterred by a "Real Names" policy aren't the ones doing the harassment in the first place. Plenty of people are willing to attach their names to offline harassment (e.g. Westboro Baptist Church) and I don't see why online harassment would be any different.
> Who says a "Real Names" policy any significant impact on a harasser?
Because if this service was worth any merit, the real name attached to the hateful speech will have the same reputation-destroying effect as it being printed in any literary source. I completely understand that this won't deter everyone, but it will deter most people.
I have very high demands for this type of service, folks assume that people using the platform will just fake the 'Real Names' policy. Well, I don't want some hokey system in place, when I talk about linking a Real Name to someone's content, I'm linking a real person to their content. How will this connection be establish, maintained and not abused? I don't know, but I do know if it worked in the appropriate manner, there wouldn't be so many functional holes as people keep saying.
G+ in its current form does not appease my demand for a service that utilizes a real "Real Names" policy - they half-ass it and frankly retard the prospect of someone trying to do it legitimately and true to form.
And how many of the serious online harassers would really be deterred by it? I suspect that many or even most of the people who would be deterred by a "Real Names" policy aren't the ones doing the harassment in the first place. Plenty of people are willing to attach their names to offline harassment (e.g. Westboro Baptist Church) and I don't see why online harassment would be any different.