Pot-Stirring Time

[TriggerHappy]

I fully support requiring not only registration for participating in official forums, but also the use of your actual name and a visible email address. This is no guarantee that someone won't be a jerk, but it's a start. If you want to participate in discussions on an official forum, you don't get to role play. They're there as themselves, you should be there as yourself.

I also have to disagree with this section.

First, because it's all too easy to falsify the name that comes with the e-mail address. Therefore there is no guarantee that it will indeed be the person's real life name.

Second, when a person uses an alias for years online, they become attached to it. They begin to value it. With time, the reputation of that "alias" becomes as important as the reputation of their real life name would be. In this case, the moderation effect would be as strong as if they were using their real names.

Lastly, there is again no guarantee that people would not stil be jerks even if forced to use their real names online. Real life offers plenty of evidence to back up this reality.