>>26
I'm actually writing a paper on that now.

So far I've determined one thing: pseudonyms are the worst of both worlds. Ideally, a board should present two choices, post fully anonymously, or accept a globally recognized identity. Facebook Connect or OpenID or whatever, something that is consistent from one site to the next.

Tripcodes almost work, but the barrier of entry is just too much for a lot of people -- it's sort of a password but sort of not, it's a weird entry form, the junk letters after the name are confusing and meaningless, etc. To contrast, put in a little blue 'f' or Yahoo or Google icon, and practically anyone will recognize and understand it.

The problem with the pseudonym is that it affords the drawbacks of anonymity, particularly impersonation and trolling, without the primary advantage of promoting content over persona. Also, the pseudonym does not allow for the sense of true community that proper names provide, which makes talking to someone feel very alien in comparison to in-person contact. This sense of detachment is the driving force behind the vicious hatred and trolling that is so pervasive on internet communities.