Wack-a-mole. That’s what it’s usually like fighting trolls, bullies, and spammers in anonymous communities. Ban them and they just start new accounts. That’s why the fact that Facebook knows who you really are could be the key to its upcoming anonymous app.

You could stay anonymous to other users, but Facebook login on the backend could track the jerks and keep them out. Powered by its anti-thesis, Facebook could unlock the potential of anonymity to let people open up and be vulnerable.

Facebook’s original value was that it knew who you were. Years of pseudo-anonymity on MySpace fostered openness but also a total distrust that anyone was who they said. Demanding people use their real names and verifying them by their college email ushered in an era of authentic identity. Read more…