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Looking into anonymity on the Internet is one of my hobbies. It actually covers several subjects:
- Pseudonymity, which is what most people on the Internet do. But the use of a username is not anonymity. Quite the opposite, in fact-- it makes you easy to identify. The term "anonymity" should not be used for situations like Wikipedia.
- Whistleblower anonymity: the need to protect your identity when you are leaking terrible secrets, an important feature both of good journalism and of the Internet. Crucial to free speech.
- Personal issue anonymity: the need to protect your identity when you are discussing an embarrassing or outrageous topic.
- Collective identity under the guise of Anonymous: a phenomenon entirely new to the Internet.
[edit] Is anonymity a bad thing or a good thing?
Both.
In my most widely propagated essay written before the launch of ESK, I advocated for no-holds-barred anonymity, using logic based not on any deep experience but on common sense. However, it's been shown that the Internet often runs contrary to common sense, so I will have to take a few steps back right now.
I didn't write this yet but I will get around to it someday.