although i am grateful for internet anonymity (never know what wacko would want to stalk you), i've never played that stupid internet game. it's a sign of weakness that you need multiple personnas to get your point across. (i suppose there are other less malevolent reasons beyond my ability to guess, so maybe i shouldn't be judgmental.) i even use a slight obfuscation of my own name. the only other person i've seen do that here (by my memory), is bishop. and he doesn't even obfuscate it. (if that is his real name.) which of course, is proof of his low iq and/or lack of sanity.
There's no reason to hide your real name if you respect the rules of the forum.
that's irrelevant. millions of people respect the rules of law every day, yet still die at the hands of sociopaths with no rules. it's a different dynamic on the internets, but the real-life illustration is only to show that respecting the rules has nothing to do with the reasons - if not necessity - for anonymity. it's about the cost/benefit ratio. in an ocean of anonymity, there is no benefit to exposing yourself.
besides, i have views about my government which surely slip out, that would be unbecoming of my former position. although small odds, it could jeopardize my income.
not to mention, i don't want people googling my name and coming up with flat earth bullshit.
furthermore, i've been the victim of online identity theft and brother, it was a nightmare. still is, the trouble never really ends. so yeah, i'm now an absolute freak about online privacy, security, and anonymity. you wouldn't believe the ends i go to (such as only buying from sites that accept paypal, the only vendor with my bank card).
so while
you may have no reason for anonymity, it doesn't stand to reason that i therefore shouldn't either.
btw, are you really tristan lachman, and is that really a picture of you? i don't care (in fact i hope not), but the answer might reveal your true feelings about my position, rather than what seems on the surface to be a reasonable position for playing devil's advocate.
the irony might wind up being that i am less anonymous than you. i don't think it would be too hard to track me down. and if, by some incredibly odd reason with fantastically low odds, someone who knows me stumbled on these forums and saw one of my posts, i would definitely be recognizable. which is more an artifact of this being my "standard" username and avatar of a few years that i've used on a small collection of other private boards. and not totally in line with my own "rules" of privacy.