User talk:Socialmediaprofessor

Prior study

Hi, I trust you have realised that the following, from your and Marcia's 2010 study (which I'm just reading), was incorrect:

In addition, Wikipedia strengthened its policies for contributors and made it impossible to write and edit anonymously. Today, contributors either have to register or their IP addresses will be recorded.

Everybody's IP address is (and I believe always was) recorded; but if you have registered an account, it is not displayed to the public, and only available to a special class of users called checkusers. Editing is still anonymous today in the sense that it is entirely up to you as to whether you disclose your identity or not, and if you have registered an account, Wikipedia will not disclose your IP address unless ordered to do so by a court. Nor, as you know now that you have registered an account, will Wikipedia ask you for your name when you register an account.

Anonymity is still very important to Wikipedians: disclosing the identity of someone who has not disclosed it himself on Wikipedia first is grounds for a community ban. Regards, JN466 19:31, 23 April 2012 (UTC)