I think anonymity, non-anonymity, and pseudonyms are all pretty nuanced, and don’t have as linear an impact on the discourse as is commonly represented. We all

I think anonymity, non-anonymity, and pseudonyms are all pretty nuanced, and don’t have as linear an impact on the discourse as is commonly represented. We all know of anonymous forums that are utter cesspools, such as 4chan. We’ve also probably been part of forums and social media sites where pseudonyms were the norm, yet everyone jealously protected their good name and comported themself according to the norms and expectations of that community. Scale, social cohesion, moderation quality, and other site decisions have a huge impact on how people behave, possibly bigger than whether or not people use their real names.