Here's one woman's horrifying experience as good justification on why this should not even be sanctioned by Etsy:
Just recently, as stated in announcements, Etsy made sellers able to add their real name to their profiles. In the announcement they state....
"Using your name on Etsy can help people you know in the real world recognize you, and can establish credibility and engender trust.
Using your name on Etsy is a way of saying, "With my real-world identity, I stand by my work and my activity in the Etsy community."
This has caused a lot of issues with some sellers and I'm one of them.
I'd like to share with sellers my personal story and perhaps you can understand why some sellers (such as myself) sell under pseudo-names and prefer NOT to have their real names published.
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A few years ago, I dated a man who was handsome, charming and terrific in many ways. During the time we were dating, he began to use methamphetamines. Because of this, I broke things off with him.
He stalked me. Threatened me. He broke into my home more than once and the second time, he beat me unconscious on the bathroom floor.
He was sent to jail.
In jail, he met a queer man who liked violence and forced sex. He hired this man, once the man was released, to come pay me a visit. This man busted down my locked front door. When I fought back, he beat me to near death. I died on my kitchen floor while my sister was waiting for the paramedics to arrive. I was revived there as well.
Since that time, I've moved. I've made every piece of personal information that I can disappear from listings and searches and anything I couldn't delete has been made private. I have *paid money* to have profiles and info removed off sites that state they won't remove information.
Over a year later I'm still required to do daily physical therapy. My face and body are scarred for life and I will -always- have to do physical therapy for the rest of my life. Daily.
Not wanting my real name shared with the public through my shop does NOT make me less trustworthy than anyone else. Not wanting my real name shared with the public through my shop or profile doesn't make me any less credible.
Like everyone else, I have to make a living. I need the extra cash I make here on this site. Being the (nearly) invisible partner behind our Etsy shop makes me no less credible than anyone else here.
I am (and should be) insulted that Etsy has insinuated in their faq this is the case with the installment of this new feature. So are others. Maybe sharing -your- name isn't a big deal, but that doesn't mean it isn't a valid issue.