As people interact in online venues, they need to represent who they are to others. The details of how we do this matter. Sociologist Erving Goffman explains how, in the face-to-face world, we are always performing roles. These elements of identity translate into the online world. One of the key questions for online activity is the role of anonymity. The chapter explains the advantages and disadvantages of anonymous interaction. In fact, we’re all really some degree of “pseudonymous” (between anonymous and identified) most of the time anyway. How identity is represented turns out to be one of the most powerful design decisions that you make in creating an online communications environment.