What is the purpose of anonymity?

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Here is a non-online example of anonymity http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/22/nyregion/rule-forbidding-masks-at-protests-is-to-be-challenged.html?&_r=2&hp

But this question was inspired by an online instance. Recently a user on Reddit was doxed (de-anonymized "maliciously") by the press. He was a notorious troll and poster of borderline legal images of underage girls or unaware women in "creepshots".

The comments on the Gawker pages where the doxing article(s) were printed is back and forth on whether this user should have been protected.
http://gawker.com/5950981/unmasking-reddits-violentacrez-the-biggest-troll-on-the-web

One side argues that it is needed for ultimate freedom of speech, for he could not say and do the things he did without this shield. Case-in-point: he was fired the next day and has been receiving death threats.

The other side argues that he was using anonymity for something other that its real purpose. That a shield used to continue to attack others is not a legitimate shield.

So I ask, what is the purpose of anonymity and can that protection morally be lost by your behavior/speech while anonymous?

For this discussion, let's focus on the WHY anonymity exists. Lots of the existing answers address the WHAT of anonymity's function, but not really it's purpose.

Clearly the function of anonymity is to conceal the identity of an actor/speaker from others to avoid suffering consequences for actions/words. What purpose does society have for this function?

internet

anonymity

society

understand

tynamite

Make sure you are who you say you are.
Gain the upper hand in social settings with ulterior motives.
Prompting the people around them to act upon the things they have said and revealed.

Another unique scenario that is non-existent to the people of real life, but is this time a positive on the Internet, is that when you offend someone or come across someone you don't like, you can easily avoid them and move on with your life.

Because of this, this prompts many people to be more honest about themselves online, than they are with their friends and family. In the case of Quora, when people are depressed or different to everyone else in some way, the people of Quora are the first ones to hear about it. If someone doesn't like what you've got to say, they can here downvote you or in an extreme case block you after an argument in the comments, but still you are allowed to move on.

This gives people a false sense of security that the internet is a utopia. (Or maybe it is for them.) It is only when people start to examine ones digital footprint, that this utopia is broken, and the concepts of being judgemental and gossip, becomes important in an environment of which all the actions you did, you did because you had no fear of those things.

Keep in mind that many people use social networks as escapism, and even if they don't, that they most often post different things there than they do in real life, that by stalking people online, do people start to run into problems.

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What is mesmerising about these problems, is that to you the information you've gathered seems innocent, but to them, it truly is a weapon, but you need not know it.

I'll be stating some examples of stalking and secrets now I know about, but from Quora as it's something we can all relate to.

As a joke I said I would post someone's erotic stories here and tag their name in it, so everyone here could see it. She said in one of her answers that she uses her real name for them, but that she doesn't want them posted here.
As a joke I said I would post someone's erotic stories here and tag their name in it, so everyone here could see it. She said in one of her answers that she uses her real name for them, but that she doesn't want them posted here.
I had someone try to find as much information about me on the internet to find out if I could be trusted or not, but they couldn't find anything about me. That's a great result, as I wouldn't catalogue years of my life online without a pseudonym name anyway.
I also had someone post my outdated phone number from 7 years ago onto Quora. Just because I say I put my number online and I don't care who calls me, doesn't mean that you have to post it here, because I didn't post it here. I then gave him a 0845 premium rate number (as a joke) to reach me that masked my mobile number.
I know someone on this site who has bipolar disorder but she doesn't know that I know she has it. In fact all her friends here who tell her they like her, chastise and slate her unbeknownst to them, when she posts answers anonymously when she's off her rockers. Also she's bisexual and has kids (and maybe a man). Also she's on meds, taking antidepressants.
I know someone who has to post their minority views here anonymously, at the risk of being hated for what they think. They are controversial here.
There's someone I speak to who has some obsessed man obsessively stalk her on Quora and be strangely besotted by certain answers, so she's anonymous for those answers, as he stalks all her answers.
I know someone who asks loads of questions about the various people anonymously, in order to not look like a creep, but it's not like that because of special circumstances I cannot get into without revealing who he is. He has since had his anonymity rights revoked for asking "too many questions".
The classic one is people who post answers about their family and friends anonymously, that they'd love to share, but not have attributed to them. You can add sad things they post about themselves too.
There's someone who stalks me on Quora, and others who pirate me.

What about all the ones I don't know about?

Now imagine if it was socially acceptable for people to cyberstalk, dox and spill secrets about people online. Can you imagine it?

There are many reasons for why people want to be anonymous online, but we all have different reasons for it. I think we are all cyber-skeptical to some extent, but some more than others.

"The best thing and worst thing about anonymity on Quora, is that we don't know why the person is anonymous."

Also I've just joined a community online that's not launched yet, of which the admin of the site wants to stay anonymous. The person who runs it says they believe that any community or social network can be peaceful or harmonious with a laizzes-fairre attitude to moderation, once the majority of people are nice and socially relevant, with safeguards in place to prevent abuse.