The Problem
At the moment it is theoretically not possible to make code contributions to a KDE project only by using the nickname. When I try to contribute with only my nickname set as my git user name, a remote audit complains "Non-full name". Also other community members said to me that it would not be possible to contribute code without my "real" name and a valid email adress.
Why is that a problem?
The big problem is not the "real" name on its own, but the information associated with it which could be found on the internet. Using the "real" name for code contributions, anybody could, without the knowledge nor the consent of the contributor, find out much information on the internet about this person which could include following points:
- how does this person look like? (through images)
- which education enjoyed this person?
- which companys has this person worked for?
- where does this person live?
- what are the hobbys of this person, what does this person do in it's spare time?
- which topics does this person care about, what are it's interests?
- which opinions does this person have, what's the person's political orientation?
- what are the beliefs of this person, is it member of a religious group?
- and likely much more...
This information in the hands of the wrong person could be exploited, but simply the knowledge that a random person could find all this things out about oneself only by seeing one's name attached to a contribution is very scary.
What do official KDE documents say?
The KDE Vision (https://community.kde.org/KDE/Vision) states: "A world in which everyone has control over their digital life and enjoys freedom and privacy."
Why should this be limited to our users only? Forcing the contributors to unveil their "real" name violates the contributors privacy and and does not help them to have complete control over their digital life.
The KDE Manifesto (https://manifesto.kde.org/) states: "Inclusivity to ensure that all people are welcome to join us and participate;"
It is not inclusive if people can not contribute to projects if they do not want to give up their privacy by revealing their "real" name.
The Licensing Policy (https://community.kde.org/Policies/Licensing_Policy) of KDE states: "All source files must contain a copyright header which identifies the copyright holder(s) together with an e-mail address that can be used to reach the copyright holder."
Who says that a copyright holder can only be identified by his "real" name and not by his nickname? Neither in this paragraph nor in any other paragraph of the licensing policy it is mentioned that a contributor has to unveil his real name to be properly identifiable.
Which steps are left to be done?
- Identify reasons and official guidelines which say that it is not possible to contribute without revealing the "real" name
- Find ways to make anonymous / pseudonymous code contributions possible
- Remove barriers and adapt guidelines so no contributor is forced to give up it's privacy by revealing his "real" name
Further resources on the privacy topic
https://phabricator.kde.org/T11075
https://community.kde.org/Goals/Privacy_Software