I occasionally want to buy things from people I know online, sell art commissions, etc. But I don't want them to have my real name, because my real identity is too easily searchable. I use my pen name as an artist when communicating with people online and would prefer to only give that name to people I trust enough to do $10-20 business with but do not completely trust not to dox me at some later point because they disagreed with an opinion on an internet forum or lost a video game or whatever. (In a perfect world we would only ever associate with mature adults and these concerns would be farfetched, but let's be real.) I know how to add other email addresses and have one with my pen name/online alias, but when people send or receive money from me, they still see my real name, right? (I'd also like to protect my street address if possible.) I've read that I can legally set up a business with my pen name, but that seems like an awful lot of paperwork and government involvement and probably complicated tax issues just to occasionally buy someone a coffee to say, "Hey, thanks for keeping this site running," or, "Yeah, I'll give you $10 to draw me a picture to add to your 'oops I'm short on rent this month' fund." Plus, is that even legal?? If it's technically legal, is it ethical?? I am hardly a "business," and that seems like a ridiculously legally complicated way to just protect my identity on the internet. Is there a way to keep that identity protected without legally registering as a business? Thanks!
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