[borgdefenser]

I think using your last name, counter intuitively makes discussion less civil.

In a form like this, if someone is insulted, it is just the idea and words that have been insulted.

When using your last name, it is the real person's identity that has been insulted. Then it goes both ways in a feedback loop involving two real people's real identity without the constraint that face to face confrontation would impose.

The only way to make that worse then would be to have ML algorithms running on top trying to nudge people to but heads for engagement.

Maybe we could design a system that is worse that in order to join you have tell someone using both real names that their newborn baby is ugly and instead of collecting a list of friends you collect a list of enemies. Short of that though we seemed to have really done a great job figuring out the worst possible form of communication.

[markhahn]

I don't follow your logic - surely communicating from behind a mask encourages rudeness, no? Your comments seem to focus only on the recipient's authenticity or maskedness.

Are you assuming that the author's own identity will always be masked or throwaway like a sockpuppet? That seems very much like a design choice of the forum.

[Izkata]

This is the general assumption made by people who already aren't like that, but it's not really how it ends up working. Either they don't care their identity is also visible, or they forget in the moment. The ones that don't care now also have a real identity to target instead of just a pseudonym.