from a personal standpoint, i think that just posting as "anonymous" doesn't give enough reference to a voice. i was not named p_coyle by my parents, nor have i went through the process of legally changing my name, but i post as p_coyle. before i signed up for a dreamwidth account i did -p coyle at he end of my posts.

that being said, posting a -(name) distinguishes you from the truly anonymous posters. i don't know who translucent jejune octopus is, nor murmuration or ron m or bofur is in real life, but you put a stamp on who you are in this online community. i feel like they are online friends after all this time.

(erika is a whole other ball of wax. a brave, defiant ball of wax. (luv ya e xx) )

it helps to distinguish voices, and even cosmic oom names give a reference point the rest of us can wrap our head around.

i am loathe to use my real name on the internet. once you commit to posting as translucent jejune octopus, i will at the very least be able to put your posts into a context where i get to know you as a person.

i'm pretty sure some of us agree that some sense of community is lacking in the current situation, and we should encourage building that community even if it doesn't involve exchanging ssn's and bank account info, and we have to do it quasi-anonymously over the internet. these are the times we live in. make the best of it that you can.