I liked this especially: "If you've got something to say online, say it in your own name or fuck off."
Saying everybody should use their own names means you not only want to judge the opinions and actions of individuals, but you also want to judge them on a personal level, which should be irrelevant to... everything.
Before last year I never used my real name anywhere online, nor did I use a handle which contained any part of said name. I wrote no differently than I do now and still hold the same opinions I did previously. Who I am doesn't matter; it never should, here or anywhere else.
Of course, restricting the number of handles per person is pretty difficult without some kind of record of their real identity. But, there's a puzzle to solve!
I don't feel like I know many people on HN mostly because it's more of a forum for debate than for making casual banter, the latter being more conducive to personal bonding (at least to me). On old BBS I used to know a lot of folks and met many of them, mostly because we spent the majority of our time exchanging witty banter and such.
There are only a few names I recognize here, mostly because they have a tendency to reply to my own comments with some regularity or always post really insightful stuff.
I agree, in general, and you provided a nice argument in support of your position. Sometimes, however, you can’t help but express a strong opinion and nothing else, as I did above. Then your post shouldn’t be anonymous. Another example is when you give advice, such as in "Ask HN". Then the reader would certainly like to know your background.
--Steve