Agreed. Real name isn't enough. However, what about real name + other qualifications that go with identity? Relevant education, work history, projects, etc. The

Agreed. Real name isn't enough. However, what about real name + other qualifications that go with identity? Relevant education, work history, projects, etc. These things seem like they would be a decent but not perfect filter for expertise in a given topic. Exclusion and abuse are problems. But those things happen a lot on Facebook, Twitter, etc. already and those platforms seem to still serve their primary use case and be doing okay overall. I agree that people are still able to identify themselves, but if it's not common practice or built-in as a cultural "feature" of the platform, most people won't identify themselves. The last point is a good one, but I think that the issue is that it's hard to demonstrate you know your stuff in a short Facebook comment or 140 characters. More crucially, on an anonymous forum like Reddit, uninformed readers can't tell the difference between qualified and unqualified opinions. The best proxies - proper grammar, familiarity with relevant jargon, and unverified statements of qualification - seem lacking.