How Being Anonymous on Steem Blockchain Will Save You from Trouble

in #steemit7 years ago (edited)

Background

When i joined steemit, i was led to believe that unless newcomers verify themselves, they won’t be regarded as genuine accounts and will not receive any support in terms of upvotes from the majority of community..

Suffice to say that this information could not be more wrong...

Most of the early steemians have never even shown their faces on the blockchain ever and yet they are the ones advocating transparency through “genuine introduce yourself posts” containing your various images while holding signboard of your account name and date of introduction post.

Realistically speaking those people who call you fake on steemit will start calling you “Sir” or “Mam” the moment you come up with a hefty amount of SP in your wallets. 😂

2A405317-61B4-40AB-BAA4-2B18C4F77367.jpeg
Over the period, the training mask has not only been my gym buddy but also has helped me cover my identity on steemit

Never Ever Put Up Your Images / Videos on Blockchain If You Don’t Want To.

Why??

Because this is not facebook where you can delete your entire account and all of your posts and pictures in a jiffy.

After the posts have been paid out, they permanently become part of the blockchain for all times to come and your face will be visible to whoever is looking for you. No matter what you do, you cannot delete that data.

Unacceptability of Cryptos in Some Countries

Just to give an example on how being “identifiable” on steemit can get you in trouble, let me present a scenario.

Cryptocurrencies are yet to accepted in many countries. For now, things are not in black and white but in future if some govt decides to start a crackdown on people using and dealing in cryptos, you will be easily caught if you keep giving out your identity on blockchain like this...

Conclusion

Anonymity is Your Biggest Ally. Never declare yourself on steemit just to satisfy someone’s ego who feels threatened by your existence on this platform. I learned this the hard way. You will be known here for your blogs, for your work and for your interaction with community but certainly NOT for your “valid” pictures.

So unless you are comfortable giving out your identities, i suggest you should never do it. BE ANONYMOUS..

Best wishes
JBN
Steem on

kindly do consider to resteem and upvote this post for benefit of others

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Welcome to Steem Community @jbn! As a gentle reminder, please keep your master password safe. The best practise is to use your private posting key to login to Steemit when posting; and the private active key for wallet related transactions.

In the New Steemians project, we help new members of steem by education and resteeeming their articles. Get your articles resteemed too for maximum exposure. You can learn more about it here: https://steemit.com/introduceyourself/@gaman/new-steemians-project-launch

Did you read the article? Before self voting your obnoxious comment??

You took all the words from my mouth man, I also thought the same way. I saw so many advises on Steemit saying we should put our real names n stuff to be more upvoted and appreciated, but actually it doesn't make sense. It is much better to stay anonymous on the internet in general, not just blockchain. I even used a fake name for Facebook, fuck all that, I like being in the dark where nobody can see me. Peace brother, I really like your article. ✌

Thank you very much.. and let me repeat that you have done well by not disclosing yourself (since you were never confortable with this idea to begin with)..

I also choose to remain largely anonymous on the platform, although am making friends who are getting to know the real me.

Being anonymous is a choice that should be respected

Yes.. and no one should ever be asked to validate themselves on steemit... thank you for putting things in perspectives..

Whoops.. upvoted my own comment by mistake..

like this idea. decide to resteem on by blog too... fortunately... after few month I still not yet post my 'introduce yourself' yet... :)

Why not? It is time to post your introduction my friend.. dont forget to use the tags “steemit, introduceyourself, introduction, blog, introducemyself” when you do it. And do send me the link of your intro post when you make it..

Gracias por pasar a formar parte de nuestra comunidad, Saludos.

Muchas Gracias..

Yes, having your photo's and identity on Steemit, or any of the other apps that use STEEM Blockchain could present problems at any time in the future.
Supposedly censorship free if you say things illegal in your country or do/post something else illegal in your country on Steemit, you could be in for trouble at any time...blockchain is forever as you tell us.
Being annonymous is a right we all have and should consider using more.
Crypto we may earn is also recorded in time on the blockchain...beware the tax man coming in the future.

Exactly.. i absolutely agree with you...

It's not just the STEEM Blockchain that presents privacy issues. As I understand it (not too much) all blockchains store their data forever, this can present issues of copyright infringement legal actions against the holder/uploader of infringing material maybe not now, but maybe a year, or ten years later..
dTube for example could potentially have legal issues in future if users upload copyright materials without licence or if nodes store any IPFS files that infringe copyrights.
then there's the issue of copyright being different in most countries, US copyright seems the most widespread (they expect it to be universal) Some things are out of copyright in certain countries but still under copyright in the US...so the content makes it to a blockchain which is decentralized...so the dilema begins.
It's an exciting transforming world we live in and laws will have to evolve.

Well, when you delete a photo on facebook, that photo is not actually deleted...

If you are talking about deletion of data from their servers then yes, but your deleted pictures and profile will not show up on google search. However in case of steem blockchain, it will be there forever no matter how hard you wanna try to delete it..

Personally, I don't give a crap about being known as me. And I'm not afraid of authorities, period. But I totally understand and support anyone's decision to remain anonymous and protect their privacy for whatever reason. I feel it's anyone's sovereign right as beings. So while I practice differently for myself, I agree with you wholeheartedly. Don't let anyone pressure or punk you around to conforming where they don't actually have that power. Illusion of power is so powerful.

Well you are right. thats why i said “dont share your identity if you don’t want to”..

illusion of power is so powerful

Very well put..

Good article, so many underestimate the value of this. All the info stored here, will be available forever.

Exactly my friend

Completely agree with you. It is an easy way to expose yourself from unwanted threat which you may evade otherwise. Nice suggestion. It is obvious if you have high SP, people love to give you importannce. So choice is in your own hand. Better move save than expose and be in trouble. Keep sharing @jbn

Fabulously summed up. Thank you..

I agree. There's something about the fact that you can never change it that made me extra cautious. That's why I didn't use my real name. That's why I don't really post pictures of myself. It's a crazy world out there. I like your mask though!

You have done well my friend.. wish i had the same brains when i joined..

And thank you very much... the mask is actually Elevation Training Mask 2.0 yet i have found it to be extremely useful when posting pictures of myself on the blockchain (if you know what i mean) :p

I sometimes feel the need to created a second acount, My hobby is Cannabis amongst other plants, but I dont feel safe enough posting a lot of Cannabis related content because I use my real name it does restrict me from sharing certain things. I would like to use a second anonymous account but its more work and also the negative stigma of annonimity is holding me back a bit.

Yes do that. Why not?? People here have created over 5 accounts (and not for the good reasons), so why cant you create another and make it your ground for creating weed related posts / videos / images.

Go easy man. There is no negative stigma related to anonymity.. there is just the illusion of it. I bet you all my SP that when you create another account and pump it up with 30k or 40k SP, no one is gonna even ask you who you are and they will be calling you “one of the most respected steemians”

This is one of greatest lesson I have learnt, from a witness before. It’s kinda late but well, better late than never. I’m thankful for your reminder ;)

I also learned it a bit late.. but like you said, better late than never.. thank you for the kind response..

You're right about that. I never showed my face and I'm not going to, cause that could bring some real trouble!

You are absolutely right. Wish i had thought this through when i joined the platform..

Exactly, Em agree with you, nobody needs to prove his/her identity here on STEEMIT. It's up to you, you want or not, nobody has a right to criticism on you. thankyOu for making this post.

Well said sana..

Glad I've read this post before doing my introduction. I wouldn't have posted a picture of myself but now I'm even more cautious .

Thank you for sharing your experience with us!
Regards dasvinni

You did good.. do not post your pictures if you dont want to. If you’ll create a full “valid” intro post with pictures and signboards and videos and all, then at best you will get somewhat like 2$ or 3$ payout (5$ at best). After which, you will be like any other new comer, means earning 30 40 cents on each post until you build your reputation and SP to a specific level.. but the information and pictures that you will provide on your intro post will remain here forever..
so take it easy.. dont do it if you dont want to..

NICE SUGGESTION...
I totally agree with you...before completely disclosing his/her identity one should be aware of all aspect and should do it only if comfortable...no pressure.:)

Exactly my friend.. good to see you jahanzeb on my post after a long time my friend..

I agree 100%. I too thought long and hard and decided to remain anonymous. Would love to meet some of the people here in person someday, for some of the Steemians I have come across have exceptional talent and also have inspired me. Most of them are anonymous too.
So for now, I too will remain as is.
Thank you @jbn for bringing this up.

Thank you very much for bringing up you personal experience on the matter.. you are absolutely right..

I have RESTEEMED this post because it is my opinion that it is very important that all Steemians know this.

Well thank you very much.. passing on the information is very important..

I'm about to complete my "introduceyourself" post and I've been questioning myself about the suggestions of steemians from youtube tutorials on this topic, as you point out, they all advise to publish as much as possible about your private life. I've always been reluctant or very cautious about sharing sensitive informations online. I'm very grateful that I came across your post, you have cleared up many doubts for me. Thanks again.

You did good by not disclosing yourself.. we were naive to believe that we needed to post our entire identities in Introduction posts... you are most welcome.. and welcome to steem blockchain.. 😇

Thank you very much, again !!!

Totally agree, I did not post myself holding a sign in my introduction post, but I am "myself" here. Now my bf holds a different opinion and uses unanimity across his online platforms for all the reasons you have stated. To each his own I guess

To each his own.. but this is specifically for those who do not want to disclose themselves in public because that information is gonna remain there forever and there is nothing you can do about it..

This is one of the reasons I don't post pictures of myself. I just had to do one video about encouraging a cryptocurrency exchange platform to add SBD and STEEM in their exchange. It was a for a good cause. I should have done what others have done by making a video about that and stayed anonymous. They did not even have to show themselves or talk at all. Man, I'm such a noob.

No you are not. We all are learning my friend.. like another commentator here said, “better late than never”... 😌

You are right. We learn in different ways soiner or later but we still learn.

Another reason to stay anonymous. Some governments don't like criticism and should they decided to come looking for their critics, you don't want your real data posted all over the blockchain. It's practically an invitation for them to come arrest you.

Exactly mate..

Thanks for your advice on not posting identity pictures

Thank you very much..

Thank you for your advice ,i like it

I hate to tell you but your not anonomous atall really, mainly because your face is visable 😂 face recognition software,your showing your eyes,a mask covering the mouth dosnt really do much! And you must use a vpn and anonsteem

There are different levels of anonymity.. for instance, the company i work for does not allow me to deal with any sort of secondary businesses that includes investing in cryptos and stocks. So as far as they are concerned, i am pretty much anonymous since a simple name search on google will give them nada.

However if you are talking about NSA and stuff then no one is really anonymous. They can track you using your cellphones, mail address, emails, even VPN.. never think that your VPN is gonna save you from govt if they are on to you.

The anonymity i am talking about is for general purpose safety..

Besides, if you wanna be completely anonymous then i suggest that you should not hold any job, phone and not to mention that you should not be on the internet in the first place.. may be live off in places that dont have electricity or telephone lines..

Nice your post. you told your blog, (Cryptocurrencies are yet to accepted in many countries.) good information. I like that. thank you friend.

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Fantastic post! You should also follow this advice for tax purposes in case you ever become very successful, unless you feel like giving away half of what you earned and most likely being audited, or worse.

This is also great advice in general, and something I touched on in my introduction post tonight. Don't give away your likeness and personal information to a bunchy of strangers on the internet.

Good to meet you, following.

EDIT: "you" in this case is generally referring to readers, not you the author, you know all of this already! :)

@jbn Whatever rocks each individual's boat I believe.

P.S. As a newbie please I need all the assistance i can get.

I do not agree with you @jbn Though, I respect your decission to remain behind the mask. We all have our own reasons to be on this platform. I use it to raise my voice over various issues. It does not matter to me that who reads it or not. Why should I remain in dark? Crypto is under the radar in India. Stil, I am on steemit and even if they ban it, I will keep posting. One should have confidence in what he says and should stand by it, until he dies.

Before you accuse me of preaching anonymity, kindly do give my post another read where will you find that i have said it over tons of times that “dont post your pictures IF YOU DONT WANT TO”.. if you dont want to, being the key sentence here..

even in the end, i said “unless you are comfortable with posting your pictures, don’t do it just to satisfy someone else’s ego”..

read again..

I m not accusing you of anything. It's every individual's own decision.
👇

I think anonymity for a lot of people inspires more authentic, meaningful dialogue, (unless you're one of those distinctively prolific writers). I need a place where I can feel free to focus on ideas without social pressures. Thanks for the post.

Welcome to Steemit jbn. Let me know if you got any questions about Steem or anything related to it! The official FAQ can be found here and has A LOT of information https://steemit.com/faq.html - Also remember, Steemit is just ONE of the sites built that uses Steem the blockchain. We also have DTube - our very own Youtube, DSound for Soundcloud and Steepshot if you prefer Instagram like experience. I'd also like to mention ChainBB - forums, Busy - Steemit with more modern look basically, DMania for memes and Dlive for streaming just like in Twitch! You can also earn Steem by gaming now! Search for Steemgar if that's more your thing. Welcome to the blockchain! :)

I welcome you to the blockchain as well.. first of all let me teach you how NOT to spam. Specially on a post that was designed specially for people coming on to the platform.
I know you won’t come back to read this.. may be a flag will change your mind..

They might have come after the #introduceyourself tag. Most of these accounts are bots..

Yes... and i duly intend to flag them because they are destroying steemit by posting stupid “welcome to steemit” bullsh*t messages without even reading the posts..

Welcome to steemit life

I have certainly lived more steemit life than you have. So here is a flag for spam commenting without even reading the article..

Good work, I agree, way too many bots, kudos to you for flagging them, no need to let them automate crypto earnings when they contribute nothing.

Hello dear ! Welcome to Steemit ! I'm a cryptocurrency trader with really good results, 70%, 258%, 300% (REAL) Feel free to join me on Steemit to get great info&way to understand & invest in the crypto world ! CQRTC.

BINANCE_REVIEW_MARKET_CRYPTOCURRENCY_COURS_TRADING-triangle.jpg

Oh woowww.. i am in tears.. i didnt know that i could actually find honest and successful crypto advisors over here.. oh my gosh.. 😒

Here you go.. my gift to you for spamming my comments section..

I'm sure I got twice times result you ever had ahah

t.me/CryptoQuantumCorporation

@cqrtc you're on the @abusereports naughty list!
If you do not stop, your account will be rendered invisible on Steemit. Bad Steemian! Bad!

The word you are looking for is “think”. You “think” you have got twice times results i ever had. Technically you can only be sure of this assessment when you have definitive proof and facts related to my investment in cryptos, which sadly you don’t..
word of advice : no matter how much of a champion you think you are, never pitch your success against someone whom you know absolutely nothing about.