I don’t do social media anymore but when I did, I used my full name and never had problems. But, in my opinion, using your real name on a forum isn’t apples to apples. When I was doing social media, I never had substantial or lengthy discussions with someone who commented on a post. In other words, I never encountered a conversation that was out of line.
Whereas on a forum - oh boyyyyy, I’ve seen things get WAY out of line - emotional, egotistical, angry, vengeful, manipulative, fanning the flames, name calling, epic tantrums etcetera. So it’s a different kind of risk posting your real name on a forum which will always be vulnerable to heated convos. But I’m not totally against using full names.
As far as discussing politics - there are plenty of people who can have calm and positive discussions even if their ideologies are polar. However, if you view one side as crazy zealots who are out to get you - good luck with that conversation bc it was over before it started in that case!
