I share Alan's preference that forums, unless specific topical forums (which this is not), should be non-anonymous.

This isn't China. There's no pressing need, outside of paranoia or culture-induced fear, to worry about putting your actual name with your words. This country got along fine with things called white pages and phone books, featuring everyone's names and addresses. Fifty years ago, anonymous communication was the province of scaredy cats and damaged minds. Things have not improved via anonymity.

This culture of anyone can say anything anonymously online with no regard for "they know where you live" contributes to the juvenification of Americans. Mommy, daddy, and anonymity allow you to spew whatever comes to mind, regardless of truth value or consequences. Civility goes out the window. Responsibility for your words goes out the window.

There's a reason people put their actual names on academic papers, on military reports, on police reports, on engineering analyses. People have to take responsibility for their reporting, for their opinions, for their expertise (real or not). Nobody built a bridge based on an anonymous engineer's reportage.

In my opinion, in the grand scheme of things, the necessity of anonymity for APs counts for very little against the enormous lack of responsibility and accountability anonymity provides and the detrimental effects anonymity has had on the culture in general. This is where Alan and I see eye to eye.