The reason why I chose the wording I did (re:cowardly) is partly because I do believe that for the most part, but also because I want to get the attention of those anonymous users who feel that being anonymous doesn't do any harm to an online community. Using a provocative title seems to have worked, to some extent. I did get some feedback here.

This isn't my first time discussing this topic. This is something I've been thinking about for a lot of years. Here is a thread that I posted back in 2004 about anonymous accounts where I discuss the pros and cons of a forum with only verified accounts.

Ax has grown steadily since that discussion. in 2004, Ax had just over 2,600 registered users. Now there are something like 13,000 users. This growth has happened despite being one of the few forums that doesn't have an instant registration process.

So I imagine if that 13,000 users were reduced to 4,000 verified accounts, Ax could still be a busy forum, since it was back in 2004 with only 2,600 users. I would expect it actually to be busier. I would expect visitor numbers to increase as Ax attracts more fight professionals to the forum (and recovers the ones who left a long time ago).

It wouldn't be a cure-all. There would still be issues within the community that get in the way of communication. But it would be a major step forward, in my opinion.

So the question is why don't I do it? Implementation of a verification process would be a huge challenge. That's probably the only thing holding me back from doing it at this point. I think I understand all of the counter points by now. I know what the decision entails.

Unless someone wants to explain more reasons why you think it is a bad idea. I'm still listening.