Re: Why is anyone surprised at ref problems?

[Alan Anderson]

Originally Posted by Jack Jones

I would find that excuse credible if you could explain the existence of these anonymous accounts.

That's easy. I can even give two explanations, either of which ought to be sufficient.

First, those accounts are pseudonymous rather than anonymous. They represent a specific known entity. They might be fictional people, but they have an established background.

Second, the intent of those accounts is not to hide the poster from the consequences of posting. On the contrary, the intent is to protect the people reading the posts from being influenced by the history and present affiliations of the person writing them.

Yes, it's a double standard. One standard is for private individuals. The other standard is for public persona.