Interesting idea. I was ready to sign up, but stopped at "real names only" on the sign-up form. Why can't I choose to reveal my identity to Weave later, once ready, or never?
We need to keep user identities safe from exposure. One attack we're preventing: people targeting a particular person by posing as a friend. Part of the defense is making sure people are using real names (when needed, we'll back up this policy with authentication).
Glad you said something - I really want to know where the frictions are.
Fair enough. I've been through enough rounds of "real names" social networks at this point to make it a hard line. I'm likely an outlier in this respect, and my segment might be small enough that you're still able to scale. Good luck!
I get the wariness thing. The anon functionality is pretty different from what people have seen before and it might take a little time for people to get comfortable. Especially weird when we're saying using real names protects your identity more.
I'll see if there's some wording change on the signup page that can help the next guy get over this hump.
We need to keep user identities safe from exposure. One attack we're preventing: people targeting a particular person by posing as a friend. Part of the defense is making sure people are using real names (when needed, we'll back up this policy with authentication).
Glad you said something - I really want to know where the frictions are.