Are forum users who establish their identity more entitled to protection from libel?
<p>In an online forum or social network does a user who ties the identity of their presence there to their real world identity have more recourse open to them with regard to being libeled than a user who uses a pseudonym?</p>

<p>Asked another way, is it possible to commit libel against an anonymous pseudonym?</p>

<h1>There's really no difference.</h1>
<p>Quoting from <a href="http://www.eff.org/issues/bloggers/legal/liability/defamation" rel="nofollow noreferrer">here</a>,</p>
<blockquote>
<p><strong>What if I change the person's name?</strong></p>
<p>To state a defamation claim, the person claiming defamation need not be mentioned by name—the plaintiff only needs to be reasonably identifiable. So if you defame the &quot;government executive who makes his home at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue,&quot; it is still reasonably identifiable as the president.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>What does the whole thing depend on? It depends on how easy it is to identify the pseudonym-using plaintiff. They don't have more recourse, <em>per se</em> - nor do they have more protection under the law - but it may be harder for them to win the case. On the upside, the statement might not cause them as much harm when compared to a person using their actual name.</p>

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