There are online forums where I have shown up and participated anonymously for some time before getting a login. I didn't do that here, but my first post was anonymous. And the majority of online forums which require me to get a permanent login before expressing an opinion, I won't go to. I have enough ways to spend m time already. Before I decide that I will create and remember a login, I want to see what the community is like. If it is too arrogant and stuck up to allow me to do that, well why bother?

Therefore every step I see PerlMonks taking towards saying that anonymous people are persona non grata is another step towards saying that I would have given it a pass. That may not be totally fair, but that is how it is. Now for me it is a strange thought to be part of a group that I wouldn't join again!

Knowing that that is how I feel, how many others out there feel like I do and won't consider being involved? As long as Anonymous Monk isn't being abused, I think that it has real value as a transitional step in getting people involved.

And so far I have not seen it abused. In fact the problems I have seen have generally been from people who were willing to create logins. So why the hostility that I sense in this thread? If we develop the problems that /. has, well that would be different. But until we do?

Going further, I believe in voting the node, not the person. If you think of things in terms of voting up people (and I know that many do) then it is a small step from there to PM becoming an in-clique. Well here is news. I hate cliques. I cannot recall a single pleasant experience involving cliques, and I can think of plenty of miserable ones. (Including one right here on PerlMonks.) If the natural tendancy towards cliques reaches a point where I see constant complaints about it (it is nowhere near that point now, luckily) then I won't want to be here. And if I don't want to be, then I won't be.

But feeling that way - knowing that I feel that way - I do not like changes that I think promote cliques developing. Again it is a change towards saying this is a place I would never have gotten started at. A change towards driving off people I want to see around. A change towards a situation where I would leave.

I agree that cliques are a BAD thing. Like you, I have never had a good experience with them.
I also agree with all of your statements about Anonymous being useful in their own way. It needs to be kept. One thing that we have seen happen and admitted to is a real user either forgetting to log in or somehow the login getting messed and ends up posting a node as Anonymous. We need to keep that in mind when dealing with Anonymous.

Roy Alan

Take for example, a node that sucks. If you dont -- it, the Reaper doth not reap.

The opposite example, is a node that doesnt suck, and is in fact rather cool. When you ++ it, its rep increases, and somebody like me (who doesnt always have time to read the whole monastery) might find it on Best Nodes.

There has been talk in the nodes and in the CB about XP whoring. I think we've all done a little of it. But the XP is a side effect of the voting. Not the goal. The goal of the voting is to determine which nodes are better to read, which nodes we'd like to see more of, which nodes are a good idea, and so on.

So -- or ++ anonymous posts. It makes my stay at the monastery easier. It empowers our friendly Cherry Pie Afficianado.

In my opinion, we should focus more on voting than on being voted upon. Cast all your votes in a day, you get a bonus ( < lev 6). You also contribute to the overall quality of the nodes.

brother dep.

--
Laziness, Impatience, Hubris, and Generosity.

Good points there. I used to think the vote going to the anon noder was a waste of my vote, but now I see things a bit differently. I'm learning.

On a related note, folks who don't already should take a gander at Worst Nodes while they have votes each day. On more than one occasion, I've found nodes there that definitely didn't belong, and ended up rescuing them. :o)

--
Me spell chucker work grate. Need grandma chicken.

Thought I should chime in here. Is was said that:

When you ++ or -- a node, you are not in fact ++'ing or --'ing the person, but the node.

I'm sure you know this, but:
1. Every one of your votes has an effect on every other voting user through the effects of $NORM.
2. Votes on users effect their experience and reputation.
So when you ++ or -- a node, you are in fact ++'ing or --'ing the person, and every other user's chance of xp gain or loss via $NORM.

Regardless, it's agreed, vote the node!

I reserve the right to -- any idiotic node... but still, brother dep, I'm a bit dismayed at annon users, and are reluctant to ++ them. Maybe a "recommend to be FAQ'ed" vote...

--
$Stalag99{"URL"}="http://stalag99.keenspace.com";

Well, that's one way to keep $NORM down. :)

I think often, even very lame code might deserve that ++ because at least the poster has bothered to ask, and the question might raise some interesting points.