RE: Anonymous Commenters

I’ve been kicking something around since I had the problem last week with the anonymous commenter who identified himself as “Mad Milton” — mandatory identification. I don’t mean requiring individuals to identify themselves on the blog site to comment. Some of you flat can’t, given your positions in the community. I don’t mind that. But I want to know who your are.

Initially, I was going to go with that rule. But dropped it because everything was going fine. Then, Milton popped out of the pack with his attitude. And Side Note is showing the same tendency. S/he made a crack at me this morning re: my religious standing that puts her/him on thin ice. I’m not doing this to become a pincushion for guys with a beef.

I need your advice on this one. Should I require anonymous commenters to let me know who they are (which tends to cut down on nasty comments)? Or should I keep doing what I’m doing now? And booting off the occasional crank? I know who most of the anonymous commenters are. And I keep that knowledge in my head — not on paper. It’s a sacred trust to protect their identities. Let me know what you think?