HN Feature Request: Submit anonymously

2 pointsssn6 comments

Anonymity is (sometimes) a need. This feature would at least reduce the number of temporary accounts created just to preserve privacy or anonymity. Maybe only add this feature to users with karma > x ?

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I would assume that most HN users would know how to hide their identity if strong anonymity is needed. I'd never trust a 'post anonymously' button from my logged-in account.

What's wrong with temporary accounts?

Digital garbage? Wasting usernames?

I don't see that wasting usernames is a problem. New users are surely far more likely to be able to register their preferred username on HN than on, say, Gmail or Xbox Live.

What do you mean by "digital garbage", and why is it a problem?

By digital garbage I mean information without any useful purpose, only filling up space. I assume that temporary account are rare at HN, thus this isn't really a problem.

However, I ask - shouldn't this use case (anonymous posting) be accommodated by the system, instead of relying on a hack?

Even with anonymous posting, it is useful to know that the anonymous comments in the ensuing discussion are from the same person who made the original anonymous post. So I think pseudonymous posting is valuable, more so than truly anonymous posting.

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