AnneTheAgile
commented
10 years ago What if everyone checks anonymous to be safe? Don't worry about that. The value of the site will eventually make it compelling to reveal the information. Github has done that for me. At first I wanted anonymity, but now I'm not very anon because I just love all the features so much. //AnneTheAgile
Should users have actual identities visible by default (unless anonymized)?
cons: people may not post as freely, potential for retribution
pros: easy to associate with famous person in field, easy to associate with a job seeker
What if everyone checks anonymous to be safe? Then you have a bunch of posts not associated with any history etc.
Whereas is you have fake user names, you can see all other comments or ratings associated with that user. Of course if you are determined, you may use that info to guess who the user is. But like in the paper review process, you can never be sure.
Like on Ebay... you can see previous transactions, prices, ratings, etc. to see if it all adds up. Or if a review is submitted on Amazon, you can see the history of reviews.
I think it is much easier to track and evaluate behavior when there is history associated. For instance, I am much more likely to buy from a vendor that has been in business for the past 5 years, with 1000 reviews, and 98.7% satisfaction.