Maybe this isn't the right thread to post this in, but it kind of addresses >>18-24

Lately I've been wondering if anonymity is all it's cracked up to be. I was a staunch believer before, but I feel like I might be growing out of it.

Fully anonymous posting is basically perfect altruism, because you don't get anything in return, not even "reputation." Perhaps that aspect drives out the most intelligent and qualified people, because they could be doing something mutually beneficial instead.

Contrast that with pseudonyms, you get most (but not all) of the benefits, but with the major bonus that you can benefit from your work as well. (FWIW, I've never used a tripcode.)

So perhaps the solution to "chan culture" is to get rid of the anonymity. But people would probably call that a cure worse than the disease.