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YouTube has joined a growing list of social media companies who think that forcing users to use their real names will make comment sections less of a trolling wasteland, but there’s surprisingly good evidence from South Korea that real name policies fail at cleaning up comments. In 2007, South Korea temporarily mandated that all websites with over 100,000 viewers require real names, but scrapped it after it was found to be ineffective at cleaning up abusive and malicious comments (the policy reduced unwanted comments by an estimated .09%). We don’t know how this hidden gem of evidence skipped the national debate on real identities, but it’s an important lesson for YouTube, Facebook and Google, who have assumed that fear of judgement will change online behavior for the better. Last week, YouTube began a policy of prompting users to sign in through Google+ with their full names. If users decline, they have to give a valid reason, like, “My channel is for a show or character”. The polic...

View As Slideshow » 'Lift-off' just doesn't have the same ring. The Eagles or... "Eagles" are so bad according to this shop they made the list twice. To Google or not to Google. Could you survive four days without it? Photo by purpleslog Some conspiracy theories never die. This week, Mashable readers made comments that made us laugh, think and even scratch our heads. Between coverage of Digg being sold for a mere $500,000, Neil Armstrong’s would-have-been Instagram and one music shop’s list of artists to “Do Not Never Ever Buy,” there was a lot for Mashable readers to talk about. During an outdoor concert in London Bruce Springsteen and Paul McCartney had the plug pulled by order of the police before the curtain fall. Some of our readers felt the plug on their music wasn’t pulled soon enough. Digg was sold for a mere $500,000 last week. Following the rise and fall of the internet darling, our readers took a chance to debate its place in the social media s...