Anonymity is the condition or state of being anonymous, where a person lacks an identity and individuality. It's often praised as a way to maintain online privacy and speak your mind without pressure, though it can also be abused for vitriol as people often mistake it for free speech.

Some websites offer “user-facing anonymity” where discussions will appear anonymous to end users, but not to the management as posts are usually tied to an IP address. In essence, they actually provide you a pseudonym disguised as anonymity. Most websites offering “true anonymity” are often stashed away in the dark web, where it is inaccessible unless you hop on a network like Tor, I2P, etc.

It should be noted that rare glimpses of unfiltered, meaningful discussions may occur in these communities since people can speak their mind without the pressure of keeping up a digital reputation, compared to mainstream pseudonymous discussion zones that come across as an echo chamber or feedback loop that people are hesitant to disrupt because of said pressures.

However, these kinds of discussions are rare for a reason, as discussions can easily be disrupted by trolls, shitposters, and mentally unwell people who are often advised to take their medication. As a result, most people generally don't see this and come to the fairly reasonable conclusion that nothing of the sort occurs, or they admit that such discussions will technically occur in extremely rare occasions.

The ideas of anonymity and free speech are often conflated, but it should be warned that the mere offer of anonymity does not automatically imply free speech, which is why some communities will still enforce their rules and community standards against rule-breaking troublemakers. Instead, it must be seen as a transient gift, not some quality that self-indulgent weirdos obsess over.

• It's like sending a letter without indicating who the author is. Don't be weird about it.

• Personal Q&A - A question-and-answer format, or an evolution of hate mail.
• On Leading the Anonymous - An essay on leading a majority anonymous internet community.

• Anonymity and Anonymous post on Wikipedia
• Anonymity on the Pixiv Encyclopedia [JA]