Redesigning Anonymous Mode, for Humans

Conversations are, in many ways, the backbone of humanity. They shape our opinions, our personalities, and even the way we perceive the world around us. Whether it's a hearty laugh over a shared memory with an old friend or a serious discourse with a colleague, our conversations define us. But in this age of digital enlightenment, the lines between open communication and privacy have often been blurred.

We live in a time where the importance of speaking one’s mind is constantly being championed. People are urged to voice their opinions, to participate in global discussions, to be a part of the grand narrative. Yet, for many, the threat to their identity or the fear of backlash holds them back. Privacy and anonymity become their shields, allowing them to engage while maintaining a distance.

As we venture deeper into this, a pressing question emerges: How can we protect user identities while preserving the essence of their unique personalities? At Struct, we are excited to share our groundbreaking take on this age-old question, with anonymous mode.

Welcome, Algorand: Community with 37K Members

Struct Chat prioritizes open dialogue, making conversations accessible to the public. This approach not only enhances transparency but also enriches the knowledge reservoir of online communities. Esteemed communities like Apache Druid, Typesense, and Tooljet already trust and utilize Struct to capture knowledge from their conversations.

Couple of weeks ago, Algorand joined the list of Struct users. Collaborating with our newest and biggest user presented a distinctive challenge: shield the identities of its 37,000 members when presenting their Struct site to the world. We had worked on an anonymous mode briefly in the past, and this requirement allowed us to push full steam ahead in its implementation.

The biggest question was, "How do we build anonymous mode, but for humans?"

Anonymous Mode for Humans

Granted, the concept of an anonymous mode isn't novel. Various platforms have such a mode. For instance, Blind opts to showcase just the initial of a user's email, whereas platforms like Discourse simply label users as "anonymous," often followed by a random character, as explained in this post.

However, our vision is distinct. We recognize the importance of connecting with the individual behind the screen. Rather than bestowing users with generic or even frivolous usernames like 'anonymous', 'Bond007', or 'SunflowerPrincess', we aimed to resonate with the inherent human essence.

Yet, a name is only half of one's digital identity. What about the visual representation? Platforms like Slack resort to generic avatars derived from the first letter of their identity. We felt such depictions diluted the human element, rendering interactions robotic.

By default, Slack profile pictures adopt the first letter of your name.