Your tone was a little bit off putting, but I'm glad to see that that was not your intention.
With the advancement of text formatting, and getting away from bb-code I simply mean:
Don't show the user the [ b] tags etc. When someone bolds text it should just show up as bold. there are plugins for this, but it should be a standard that is implemented straight into forums.
If someone does use a [ b] tag (like if they copy and paste something) then it should automatically convert things. However, the buttons should just bold something straight away. You should aslo be able to Ctrl+B to bold text.
This should be the standard for all other text formats. Never show formatting code.
Social networks do have a bit of 'me me', but I think that there are a lot of useful discussions on there. I personally hold debates on social matters, political views, etc in which my friends and I can discuss our own beliefs in a productive/mature manner.
Furthermore, most of the content / discussions I see on forums can be on 'social networks' (which are just a diff. form of a forum). I can see how Forums can be more direct; for ex with a Graphics forum.
Yet I think that forums do need to advance / adapt if they want to keep up with the times. Perhaps forums as a whole won't disappear. but the individual forums that adapt will be more successful than those that don't; in my opinion.
Adapting means making a forum more personal, social, easy to use, and simply. Making something simple to the point that there aren't any features is annoying. However, simplicity (when i refer to it) means keeping features and making them understandable within seconds to the least intelligent / newest person on the site.
For personal identity:
harassment, both online and offline - only if you are surrounded by bullies.
discrimination in employment, provision of services, etc. - only if you post about things that they may not like. If they discriminate on race, then that's not a place you want to work at anyways. Also, using nicknames doesn't do anything to benefit your chances. Using my real name is a great way to actually get me a job as they can see my application and go see some stuff I have posted online.
actual physical danger of bullying, hate crime, etc. - again, only if you surround yourself with bullies and mean people.
arrest, imprisonment, or execution in some jurisdictions - if you are dumb enough to post your serious crimes then it is your own fault. Furthermore, a nickname hardly protects you from this.
economic harm such as job loss, loss of professional reputation, reduction of job opportunity, etc. - again. Only if you yourself make posts that would result in this happening.
social costs of not being able to interact with friends and colleagues
possible (temporary) loss of access to their data if their account is suspended or terminated - if your account with a nickname is suspended, or a friend's is the same thing happens.
--The 'cons' of using a real name apply to nicknames too and it all comes down to what people do with the name they use.
If someone loses a job because they post that they hate black people and then go on to talk about stereotypical things that "all" (in their mind) black people enjoy - that's their fault. Not a social network's. I would hope that if someone did this then they WOULD lose their job.
Let's agree to disagree, hope to improve forums together (even if we have conflicting views) and make sure that we at least debate appropriately in this endless fight.
Sorry if I came off as delivering an attack earlier.
