Goodbye, Anonymous!

Martin Jungfer

6.5.2026

Translation: Veronica Bielawski

Our Community is very active. But it’s also hard to moderate with tens of thousands of users going by the name Anonymous. To make things easier, we’re switching to unique Community names.

Let’s cut to the chase: no, you’ll no longer be able to be active in our Community under the name Anonymous. However, it does not mean we’re forcing you to be any less anonymous – you can still call yourself Strawberry22 if you want. Just to be clear, even users posting under Anonymous were never anonymous to us; we have every customer’s name in our system. Users were simply able to toggle a setting to have their comments and reviews appear under the pseudonym Anonymous within the Community.

However, the large number of Anonymous users has made moderation harder and purposeful discussions more complicated. How was anyone to keep track of which Anonymous was replying to which other Anonymous? In threads under magazine articles, this confusion often had to be cleared up before any discussion on the actual topic could be had.

Before making the transition to unique usernames, we carried out user tests. One key finding was that many people didn’t see the need for the change. For them, the many Anonymous weren’t a problem at all. Others were worried they’d lose their right to anonymity.

In these user tests, our experts went over what exactly was changing from a technical point of view and, most importantly, clarified that no additional data was being collected. Users can still choose which Community name they want to go by. You can call yourself anonyma, for example, if the username is still available. If you’re not as quick off the mark, you might have to settle for A.nony.mus or the like.

An emotional farewell

So, from a purely rational point of view, there’s no reason for alarm. And yet – as reported by the test group participants – it’s an emotionally charged change. We recognise that, for some people, it may feel as though they’re suddenly no longer anonymous. But that’s not the case.

We’re convinced this change makes sense. It’s meant to strengthen the exchange within the Community and make direct discussions between like-minded people easier. Nobody is being forced to use their real name, as has become increasingly common – or even mandatory – on news sites.

Users currently going by Anonymous have been informed about the upcoming change by e-mail. They can either confirm their existing Community username or choose a new one. Anyone who doesn’t respond by 25 May will automatically be assigned a unique – and, of course, anonymous – username. If you currently go by Anonymous, we recommend you take action now to secure the Community name you want before it’s taken.

What do you think about this change? Let us and the Community know in the comments – be it as Anonymous (for now) or funinthesun23.

Martin Jungfer

Head of Content

Martin.Jungfer@digitecgalaxus.ch

Journalist since 1997. Stopovers in Franconia (or the Franken region), Lake Constance, Obwalden, Nidwalden and Zurich. Father since 2014. Expert in editorial organisation and motivation. Focus on sustainability, home office tools, beautiful things for the home, creative toys and sports equipment. more

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