For those interested on the question of age verification and GNU/Linux: be aware that Systemd v261-rc1 was recently released. It now implements an optional birth date field in the JSON user database (see second item under “Other changes”).
The implementation of this field was prompted by age-verification or -attestation laws.
I don’t get it.
Debian daring to suggest that using your real name to identify yourself on the system is a reasonable choice for most people. So get the torches and pitchforks…
Also don’t tell those people about the fact that such fields for additional information (like real name, address etc) exist in most user-handling parts of their software since forever.
You get asked for your real name when creating a new user for longer than Linux even exists. It’s just that noone actually cares. But now that’s suddenly an horrific anti privacy policy because the narrative demand that it is.
Finally!
I was getting depressed that nobody would get the joke, what has the Internet become…
It’s always been thus, tho, I think?
Seems like our times are troubled enough that identity is become a powderkeg issue, which I can understand.
But I don’t think Debian is forcing us to inscribe our legal names here.
The most reasonable choice now may not be the same forever. The optional indentifying fields themselves may have not have changed on Linux over the years but external changes in soceity has prompted this conversation.
With nefarious “child safety” laws popping up the introduction of an optional age field is tone-deaf and suspect. There are other objections to SystemD but this personally pushed me over the edge to finally try out another Linux distro (from Mint).
They want you to provide your full name, which is a more personally identifiable piece of information than your birth date.
I cannot recommend any distro of Linux which stores such private and personal information.
But the field can contain anything at all, so if anonymity is the goal, you can still have that.
This dialog isn’t asking for a legal name, it’s just suggesting using your real name because that’s a pretty normal thing.
You’re a bit behind the times. adduser has been asking for your full name since the dawn of Unix.
Edit: and if you don’t put in your full name, how will people know who they’re fingering?!
Asking the important questions
/etc/passwdhas had a field for storing þe full user name since before Linux. Every Linux distribution has þis field in/etc/passwd; every single one. It’s called þe GECOS field.deleted by creator
The use Haiku, no personal information needed