I don't know about Quora's "work with a mod to verify the name" policy works, but I have heard from at least one friend that Facebook makes you give them a scan your driving license or other Government ID in order to show that your slightly unusual name is actually what you say it is.

Which is just absurd. A random social network should never be so powerful as to demand your Government-issued IDs for some bogus "real name" policy that penalizes names like Theodore Ts'o in favor of "normal" ones like John Smith. The day Facebook asks me for one is the day I'm done with it. Same for Quora if their policy is similar.

If the you find the policy so absurd, why not just stop using the service now? This sort of behavior, opposing policies but only acting on it when it affects you directly, is precisely what gives this "random social network" so much power.

In the US, As long as "other Government ID" is not an actual Government ID. Scanning/photocopying is a violation of Title 18, US Code Part I, Chapter 33, Section 701. While there evidently are exceptions for government agencies performing official business, Facebook is not a government agency.

The problem with a layman like myself trying to read the law is this kind of thing "except as authorized under regulations made pursuant to law" [1]. What does that mean? It makes the law entirely unreadable. Does this actually prohibit me from making a scan of my passport as a backup while travelling? Presumably not, given that doing so is actually the official suggestion of the state department [2]. So how the hell do I know if something is illegal or not?

[1] https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/701 [2] https://travel.state.gov/content/passports/en/go/checklist.h...

Is it a crime to require that a person commits a crime before being admitted into a private club?

Yes obviously

You probably won't have to worry about it unless you become famous.

I have several non-famous friends who had to show their ID to Facbook.

My girlfriend had to worry about it last week. It was a pretty crappy experience.

Stormy did your parents choose your name or did you?

Easiest way to answer is with Quora itself: https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-story-behind-Stormy-Shippy...

Beautifully written. It sounds like you have a wonderful mother!

Thank you for sharing. By the way, your mother is a very talented writer! That was a pleasure to read.

loved this, thanks for sharing

Story behind your name was pretty amazing. Ever find out the story behind his?

In this day and age, with the heavy DS and ML that's going on in companies like GOOG, it's actually not wise to use your real name anyway.

Let them think you're just John Appleseed.