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[RoseHeart]

In beginning to write this it dawned on me I could just have a pen name or fake name. But I'll still make the point since they did block me while using my username.

I want a different service I want to be able to answer and ask questions anonymously. There are emotional or objective answers to some questions that don't need a name attached to it. And there are plenty of questions to ask that you don't want to be known as, I do realize you can submit yourself as Anonymous. But why does this site need to know your name and you cannot do that for answering questions.

[Max™]

Dunno, I very firmly think you have a right to choose your name, and ban any site that tries to enforce some sort of "real name" policy. The name on my birth certificate is nothing more than a mistake as far as I'm concerned, and has nothing to do with who I actually am, trying to insist anyone abide by someone else's definition of who you are is asinine.

[Frumple]

... well, you have a for-profit company wanting to know your name. Generally the answer to your question is because they're making money off that name, some way or another.

If you want to know Quora's stated reason, it's apparently stated here, at the least.

The spirit of the policy is two-fold:
Discourage use of corporate brand names as identities. I want to see a CMO's name attached to the message and not the corporation she represents at that moment.
Encourage accountability by linking real identity to content produced. There is the option to contribute anonymously for those who disagree. This decision is a huge contributing factor to the success of Facebook. Considering that Quora's founders were early employees of Facebook, this is expected.

If you want to see some other options, you could probably browse through this list. Quora's not exactly the only Q&A site in existence. There's also stuff like reddit or whathaveyou, which while not dedicated to strictly Q&A is still not particularly lacking in places to ask or answer questions.

[Max™]

The only reason I even have an unused facebook page is because it doesn't require a real identity, and that is also why I don't use whatever the hell the google version was called, only keeping my gmail account and whatever the heck it links with in the googlefest.

[RoseHeart]

google hangouts dropped the identity req. I don't know what the hell they were trying to do with it but I do really like the free phone I can use when I'm on the computer.

Thanks I'll check out your list in a moment. As far as I can tell with Reddit you have to have an account name I don't see a way to post anonymously. Makes asking for legal advice a little tricky and things like that.

[Frumple]

Pretty sure you can use whatever you want on those account names, though. No need to tie it to your real name, or even use the same account for more than one post, if you really feel like going whole hog.

... also, asking for legal advice online is an incredibly, incredibly bad idea, for about a half dozen different reasons. The possibility of being identified as you offline is only one of them. Just... throwing that out there. The only genuinely good response you can get from that is "Consult a local lawyer."

[RoseHeart]

$

[Frumple]

Still applies much of the time, unfortunately. Lawyer might break the bank but it'll break it less than trying to go it alone, more often than not. Usually rather significantly so. That's just about the only bit of legal advice that's actually universal and cross-jurisdiction. Other notables include stuff like "don't cuss out the judge" and "don't punch the cops when you're in court". You'd think that sort of the thing would be obvious, but unless you're looking for business related legal advice (in which case for the nonexistent gods' sake you need a lawyer even worse) that kind of thing is apparently an oddly difficult sort of behavior to suss out.

'Course, if it's not an option it's not an option, but in that case trust absolutely no one that doesn't caveat most of what they say with something along the lines of "This is probably going to go poorly." Along with the good ol' sidealong to check local laws and regulations, because whatever advice they're giving has better than even odds of being either inapplicable or outright counterproductive for whatever your situation is.

Seriously though, online legal advice is a horrible, horrible idea. If it's your last option it's your last option but you'd be better off walking around the local streets or something asking business owners or whoev'. Just about anything except asking for legal advice online, really. Still, you can try. Just... be warned, and all that. It's not good juju.

[mainiac]

If we do this it will finally let Peter Wiggen start his political ascent to become president of earth.  Are people here pro or anti Wiggen?

[NullForceOmega]

Anti, his policies on squirrel torture are especially reprehensible.

Not to mention his questionable stance on incest.