<i>Google: If your profile is under review, you will not be able to make full use of Google services that require an active profile such as Google+, Buzz, and some social features of Reader and Picasa Web Albums. For example, on Buzz, you can't create content, on Reader you can't share items with other users or follow other users, and on Picasa Web Albums you can't comment on photos.</i><p>That's funny, I thought Google <i>"explicitly said the no other service of theirs will be affected."</i> [1] and that <i>"Other services aren't affected. Period."</i> [2]<p>Seems like the people who support this G+ policy have just been flat out lying. Period.<p>[1] <a href="http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2907098" rel="nofollow">http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2907098</a><p>[2] <a href="http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2907104" rel="nofollow">http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2907104</a>
So the short answer is: If you don't want to use your real name on their thing that requires real names, you don't have to use their thing that requires real names. And you can back out of it in such a way that the rest of your Google universe is unaffected.<p>Sounds perfectly reasonable.
A bit off-topic, but now you don't have to follow the G+ name rules if you're famous enough. At least if "famous enough" means "being Madonna". [1]<p>I don't remember her last name, but I'm pretty sure it is not ".".<p>[1] <a href="https://plus.google.com/101336441946387245415/posts" rel="nofollow">https://plus.google.com/101336441946387245415/posts</a>
This issue is going to massively hamstring G+, and may even keep it from growing period, and it has nothing to do with whether they allow gyms or not.<p>Technical people may understand what a disabled G+ profile means, but to the average user, they are hearing, "OMFG, IF I USE G+ I WON'T BE ABLE TO USE GOOGLE!"<p>Google is underestimating what these kinds of stories are doing to their ability to grow G+.