<s>
Internet	O
identity	O
(	O
IID	O
)	O
,	O
also	O
online	B-Application
identity	I-Application
,	O
online	O
personality	O
or	O
internet	B-Application
persona	I-Application
,	O
is	O
a	O
social	O
identity	O
that	O
an	O
Internet	O
user	O
establishes	O
in	O
online	B-Architecture
communities	I-Architecture
and	O
websites	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
An	O
online	B-Application
identity	I-Application
may	O
even	O
be	O
determined	O
by	O
a	O
user	O
's	O
relationship	O
to	O
a	O
certain	O
social	O
group	O
they	O
are	O
a	O
part	O
of	O
online	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
some	O
online	O
contexts	O
,	O
including	O
Internet	B-Application
forums	I-Application
,	O
online	B-Protocol
chats	I-Protocol
,	O
and	O
massively	B-Protocol
multiplayer	I-Protocol
online	I-Protocol
role-playing	I-Protocol
games	I-Protocol
(	O
MMORPGs	B-Protocol
)	O
,	O
users	O
can	O
represent	O
themselves	O
visually	O
by	O
choosing	O
an	O
avatar	B-Application
,	O
an	O
icon-sized	O
graphic	O
image	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Avatars	B-Application
are	O
one	O
way	O
users	O
express	O
their	O
online	B-Application
identity	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Through	O
interaction	O
with	O
other	O
users	O
,	O
an	O
established	O
online	B-Application
identity	I-Application
acquires	O
a	O
reputation	O
,	O
which	O
enables	O
other	O
users	O
to	O
decide	O
whether	O
the	O
identity	O
is	O
worthy	O
of	O
trust	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Online	B-Application
identities	I-Application
are	O
associated	O
with	O
users	O
through	O
authentication	O
,	O
which	O
typically	O
requires	O
registration	O
and	O
logging	B-General_Concept
in	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
websites	O
also	O
use	O
the	O
user	O
's	O
IP	B-Protocol
address	I-Protocol
or	O
tracking	O
cookies	O
to	O
identify	O
users	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
example	O
,	O
people	O
define	O
their	O
identity	O
explicitly	O
by	O
creating	O
user	O
profiles	O
in	O
social	O
network	O
services	O
such	O
as	O
Facebook	B-Application
or	O
LinkedIn	B-Application
and	O
online	O
dating	O
services	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
emergence	O
of	O
the	O
concept	O
of	O
online	B-Application
identity	I-Application
has	O
raised	O
many	O
questions	O
among	O
academics	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Social	O
networking	O
services	O
and	O
online	O
avatars	B-Application
have	O
complicated	O
the	O
concept	O
of	O
identity	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Dorian	O
Wiszniewski	O
and	O
Richard	O
Coyne	O
,	O
in	O
their	O
contribution	O
to	O
the	O
book	O
Building	O
Virtual	B-Architecture
Communities	I-Architecture
,	O
explore	O
online	B-Application
identity	I-Application
,	O
with	O
emphasis	O
on	O
the	O
concept	O
of	O
"	O
masking	O
"	O
identity	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Students	O
interacting	O
in	O
an	O
online	B-Architecture
community	I-Architecture
must	O
reveal	O
something	O
about	O
themselves	O
and	O
have	O
others	O
respond	O
to	O
this	O
contribution	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Bloggers	O
often	O
choose	O
to	O
use	O
pseudonyms	O
,	O
whether	O
in	O
platforms	O
such	O
as	O
WordPress	B-Application
or	O
in	O
interest-centered	O
blog	O
sites	O
,	O
to	O
protect	O
personal	O
information	O
and	O
allow	O
them	O
more	O
editorial	O
freedom	O
to	O
express	O
ideas	O
that	O
might	O
be	O
unpopular	O
with	O
their	O
family	O
,	O
employers	O
,	O
etc	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Digital	B-Application
identity	I-Application
management	O
has	O
become	O
a	O
necessity	O
when	O
applying	O
for	O
jobs	O
while	O
working	O
for	O
a	O
company	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
KPMG	O
report	O
on	O
social	O
media	O
in	O
human	O
resources	O
say	O
that	O
76	O
percent	O
of	O
American	O
companies	O
used	O
LinkedIn	B-Application
for	O
recruiting	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Online	O
social	O
networks	O
like	O
Facebook	B-Application
and	O
MySpace	B-Application
allow	O
people	O
to	O
maintain	O
an	O
online	B-Application
identity	I-Application
with	O
some	O
overlap	O
between	O
online	O
and	O
real-world	O
context	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
users	O
may	O
use	O
their	O
online	B-Application
identity	I-Application
as	O
an	O
extension	O
of	O
their	O
physical	O
selves	O
,	O
and	O
center	O
their	O
profiles	O
around	O
realistic	O
details	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
users	O
have	O
experimented	O
with	O
online	B-Application
identity	I-Application
,	O
and	O
ultimately	O
what	O
they	O
have	O
found	O
is	O
that	O
it	O
is	O
possible	O
to	O
create	O
an	O
alternate	O
identity	O
through	O
the	O
usage	O
of	O
such	O
social	O
networks	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
is	O
because	O
having	O
an	O
online	B-Application
identity	I-Application
allows	O
the	O
user	O
to	O
accomplish	O
things	O
that	O
otherwise	O
are	O
impossible	O
to	O
do	O
in	O
real	O
life	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
example	O
,	O
there	O
are	O
many	O
users	O
of	O
WeChat	B-Application
called	O
wei-businessmen	O
(	O
Wechat	B-Application
businessman	O
,	O
a	O
new	O
form	O
of	O
e-commerce	O
in	O
Wechat	B-Application
)	O
who	O
sell	O
products	O
on	O
WeChat	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Once	O
customers	O
decide	O
to	O
shop	O
via	O
Wechat	B-Application
,	O
they	O
prefer	O
to	O
choose	O
those	O
wei-businessmen	O
with	O
high	O
reputations	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
They	O
need	O
to	O
invest	O
enormous	O
efforts	O
to	O
gain	O
reputations	O
among	O
the	O
users	O
of	O
WeChat	B-Application
,	O
which	O
in	O
turn	O
increases	O
the	O
chance	O
other	O
users	O
will	O
purchase	O
from	O
them	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Online	B-Application
identity	I-Application
in	O
classrooms	O
forces	O
people	O
to	O
reevaluate	O
their	O
concepts	O
of	O
classroom	O
environments	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
virtual	O
world	O
,	O
users	O
create	O
a	O
personal	O
avatar	B-Application
and	O
communicate	O
with	O
others	O
through	O
the	O
virtual	O
identity	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
An	O
Internet	B-Application
forum	I-Application
,	O
or	O
message	B-Application
board	I-Application
,	O
is	O
an	O
online	O
discussion	B-Application
site	I-Application
where	O
people	O
can	O
hold	O
conversations	O
in	O
the	O
form	O
of	O
posted	O
messages	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
are	O
many	O
types	O
of	O
Internet	B-Application
forums	I-Application
based	O
on	O
certain	O
themes	O
or	O
groups	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
properties	O
of	O
online	B-Application
identities	I-Application
also	O
differ	O
from	O
different	O
type	O
of	O
forums	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
discussed	O
positive	O
aspect	O
of	O
virtual	B-Architecture
communities	I-Architecture
is	O
that	O
people	O
can	O
present	O
themselves	O
without	O
fear	O
of	O
persecution	O
,	O
whether	O
it	O
is	O
personality	O
traits	O
,	O
behaviors	O
that	O
they	O
are	O
curious	O
about	O
,	O
or	O
the	O
announcement	O
of	O
a	O
real	O
world	O
identity	O
component	O
that	O
has	O
never	O
before	O
been	O
announced	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Online	B-Application
identity	I-Application
has	O
given	O
people	O
the	O
opportunity	O
to	O
feel	O
comfortable	O
in	O
wide-ranging	O
roles	O
,	O
some	O
of	O
which	O
may	O
be	O
underlying	O
aspects	O
of	O
the	O
user	O
's	O
life	O
that	O
the	O
user	O
is	O
unable	O
to	O
portray	O
in	O
the	O
real	O
world	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Online	B-Application
identity	I-Application
has	O
a	O
beneficial	O
effect	O
for	O
minority	O
groups	O
,	O
including	O
racial	O
and	O
ethnic	O
minority	O
populations	O
and	O
people	O
with	O
disabilities	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Online	B-Application
identities	I-Application
may	O
help	O
remove	O
prejudices	O
created	O
by	O
stereotypes	O
found	O
in	O
real	O
life	O
,	O
and	O
thus	O
provide	O
a	O
greater	O
sense	O
of	O
inclusion	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Online	B-Application
identity	I-Application
can	O
offer	O
potential	O
social	O
benefits	O
to	O
those	O
with	O
physical	O
and	O
sensory	O
disabilities	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
case	O
of	O
social	O
network	O
services	O
such	O
as	O
Facebook	B-Application
,	O
companies	O
have	O
proposed	O
to	O
sell	O
"	O
friends	O
"	O
as	O
a	O
way	O
to	O
increase	O
a	O
user	O
's	O
visibility	O
,	O
further	O
calling	O
into	O
question	O
the	O
reliability	O
of	O
a	O
person	O
's	O
social	O
identity	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
problem	O
facing	O
anyone	O
who	O
hopes	O
to	O
build	O
a	O
positive	O
online	O
reputation	O
is	O
that	O
reputations	O
are	O
site-specific	O
;	O
for	O
example	O
,	O
one	O
's	O
reputation	O
on	O
eBay	B-Application
cannot	O
be	O
transferred	O
to	O
Slashdot	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
All	O
of	O
them	O
require	O
an	O
effective	O
public	B-Architecture
key	I-Architecture
infrastructure	I-Architecture
so	O
that	O
the	O
identity	O
of	O
two	O
separate	O
manifestations	O
of	O
an	O
online	B-Application
identity	I-Application
(	O
say	O
,	O
one	O
on	O
Wikipedia	O
and	O
another	O
on	O
Twitter	B-Application
)	O
are	O
probably	O
one	O
and	O
the	O
same	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
OpenID	O
,	O
an	O
open	O
,	O
decentralized	O
standard	O
for	O
authenticating	O
users	O
is	O
used	O
for	O
access	O
control	O
,	O
allowing	O
users	O
to	O
log	O
on	O
to	O
different	O
services	O
with	O
the	O
same	O
digital	B-Application
identity	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Context	O
collapse	O
describes	O
the	O
phenomena	O
where	O
the	O
occurrence	O
of	O
multiple	O
social	O
groups	O
in	O
one	O
space	O
causes	O
confusion	O
in	O
how	O
to	O
manage	O
one	O
's	O
online	B-Application
identity	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
term	O
was	O
first	O
coined	O
in	O
2003	O
by	O
Microsoft	O
researcher	O
danah	O
boyd	O
in	O
relation	O
to	O
social	O
networking	O
platforms	O
such	O
as	O
MySpace	B-Application
and	O
Friendster	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Given	O
the	O
malleability	O
of	O
online	B-Application
identities	I-Application
,	O
some	O
economists	O
have	O
expressed	O
surprise	O
that	O
flourishing	O
trading	O
sites	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
eBay	B-Application
,	O
have	O
developed	O
on	O
the	O
Internet	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
But	O
successful	O
Internet	O
trading	O
sites	O
have	O
developed	O
reputation	O
management	O
systems	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
eBay	B-Application
's	O
feedback	O
system	O
,	O
which	O
record	O
transactions	O
and	O
provide	O
the	O
technical	O
means	O
by	O
which	O
users	O
can	O
rate	O
each	O
other	O
's	O
trustworthiness	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Due	O
to	O
the	O
fact	O
that	O
if	O
someone	O
has	O
a	O
bad	O
online	O
reputation	O
,	O
he	O
can	O
easily	O
change	O
his	O
pseudonym	O
,	O
new	O
accounts	O
on	O
sites	O
such	O
as	O
eBay	B-Application
or	O
Amazon	O
are	O
usually	O
distrusted	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Ultimately	O
,	O
online	B-Application
identity	I-Application
cannot	O
be	O
completely	O
free	O
from	O
the	O
social	O
constraints	O
that	O
are	O
imposed	O
in	O
the	O
real	O
world	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
At	O
its	O
best	O
,	O
it	O
not	O
only	O
complicates	O
but	O
drastically	O
unsettles	O
the	O
division	O
between	O
mind	O
,	O
body	O
and	O
self	O
in	O
a	O
manner	O
only	O
possible	O
through	O
the	O
construction	O
of	O
an	O
online	B-Application
identity	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Therefore	O
,	O
they	O
call	O
for	O
an	O
identity	O
management	O
infrastructure	O
that	O
would	O
irrevocably	O
tie	O
online	B-Application
identity	I-Application
to	O
a	O
person	O
's	O
legal	O
identity	O
;	O
in	O
most	O
such	O
proposals	O
,	O
the	O
system	O
would	O
be	O
developed	O
in	O
tandem	O
with	O
a	O
secure	O
national	O
identity	O
document	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Eric	O
Schmidt	O
,	O
CEO	O
of	O
Google	B-Application
,	O
has	O
stated	O
that	O
the	O
Google+	O
social	O
network	O
is	O
intended	O
to	O
be	O
exactly	O
such	O
an	O
identity	O
system	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
controversy	O
resulting	O
from	O
Google+'s	O
policy	O
of	O
requiring	O
users	O
to	O
sign	O
in	O
using	O
legal	O
names	O
has	O
been	O
dubbed	O
the	O
"	O
nymwars	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
relatively	O
easy	O
to	O
create	O
an	O
online	B-Application
identity	I-Application
which	O
is	O
attractive	O
to	O
people	O
that	O
would	O
not	O
normally	O
become	O
involved	O
with	O
the	O
predator	O
,	O
but	O
fortunately	O
there	O
are	O
a	O
few	O
means	O
by	O
which	O
you	O
can	O
make	O
sure	O
that	O
a	O
person	O
whom	O
you	O
have	O
n't	O
met	O
is	O
actually	O
who	O
they	O
say	O
they	O
are	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
An	O
online	B-Application
identity	I-Application
that	O
has	O
acquired	O
an	O
excellent	O
reputation	O
is	O
valuable	O
for	O
two	O
reasons	O
:	O
first	O
,	O
one	O
or	O
more	O
persons	O
invested	O
a	O
great	O
deal	O
of	O
time	O
and	O
effort	O
to	O
build	O
the	O
identity	O
's	O
reputation	O
;	O
and	O
second	O
,	O
other	O
users	O
look	O
to	O
the	O
identity	O
's	O
reputation	O
as	O
they	O
try	O
to	O
decide	O
whether	O
it	O
is	O
sufficiently	O
trustworthy	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
therefore	O
unsurprising	O
that	O
online	B-Application
identities	I-Application
have	O
been	O
put	O
up	O
for	O
sale	O
at	O
online	O
auction	O
sites	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
conflicts	O
arise	O
over	O
the	O
ownership	O
of	O
online	B-Application
identities	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Recently	O
,	O
a	O
user	O
of	O
a	O
massively	O
multiplayer	O
online	O
game	O
called	O
EverQuest	B-Protocol
,	O
which	O
is	O
owned	O
by	O
Sony	O
Online	O
Entertainment	O
,	O
Inc.	O
,	O
attempted	O
to	O
sell	O
his	O
EverQuest	B-Protocol
identity	O
on	O
eBay	B-Application
.	I-Application
</s>
<s>
Sony	O
objected	O
,	O
asserting	O
that	O
the	O
character	O
is	O
Sony	O
's	O
intellectual	O
property	O
,	O
and	O
demanded	O
the	O
removal	O
of	O
the	O
auction	O
;	O
under	O
the	O
terms	O
of	O
the	O
U.S.	O
Digital	O
Millennium	O
Copyright	O
Act	O
(	O
DMCA	O
)	O
,	O
eBay	B-Application
could	O
have	O
become	O
a	O
party	O
to	O
a	O
copyright	O
infringement	O
lawsuit	O
if	O
it	O
failed	O
to	O
comply	O
.	O
</s>
