[dang]

No, I have to insist on this. Some people want the kind of forum where there are no usernames, and that's just fine. But HN is not that kind of forum. Users who want that are welcome to find (or create) such a place, just not to turn HN into it.

It's important to draw clear lines around what HN is and isn't, and this is one of those lines.

[ue_]

I agree totally that HN is not that kind of forum, I was more picking up on the point that community does not require names to exist. Sorry if you weren't trying to make that point!

[dang]

Ah I get it now. Yes, that's a valid distinction.