Glad you both brought this up. It was something I almost created a post on a few months ago. Figure I might as well add my two cents on the matter.
Why do you need anonymity? In my experience, when someone doesn’t use their real name, it both causes potential deception and the user themselves to act in a way with no real consequences to their reputation. Such people, I have to wonder, are probably living a double life. With exception to death threats, I can’t see a reason a Christian would need to hide behind a handle or false name.
The downsides I see when someone decides to obscure who they really are:
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Allows them to act in an extreme immature way with no real consequences. People will say rude things that they would never say in person to someone else.
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Typically will cause more trollish behavior.
I typically only truly respect people that use their real names when it comes to serious topics. I am sorry if this offends, but it is the way I have felt for a very long time. If you can’t be honest with who you are, then why should I take you seriously? You can post something rude and mean, then create a new account and do it all over again. Now, just because I don’t respect it, doesn’t mean others won’t. And, who cares if Gabe Grinstead respects you or not? Probably won’t lose any sleep over it, or rather, you shouldn’t. But it is more for me to to ascertain the worth of someone’s posting or opinion. Do they have courage to actually post this so others that know them might see? Or are they unsure of themselves on the matter and are just fishing for other opinions before they decide? I see it as fence sitting, so to speak.