nymwars

[aka "the nymwars"] A series of disputes which arose when Google began
enforcing a "real names" policy on its social network system Google+ in
2011.

Many internet users were accustomed to using nicknames or pseudonyms on
forums or on IRC and so objected to the forced imposition of an
unfamiliar or unwanted identity.  Google also failed to grok the privacy
implications, saying that it did not care about the legitimate uses of
pseudonyms to avoid persecution.