Further to our discussion of treating as anons as "lesser" editors, I think its fair to say that their WORK is not to be regarded as lesser. By the same token, new logged-in editors are often more impressed by "be bold" then by community. I wouldn't change policy to discourage this kind of openness. We have a lot of people who are willing to take the newbie in hand, and I don't think anyone can argue that the usual result is either that they become valued contributors, or else go away.

HOWEVER, I think its reasonable to EXPECT (not require) anons to register after an indefinite period of time, if they expect to gain respect and warm relations with the community. It's simply a matter of having a name to put to an edit, and an expression that the editor is willing to join (not visit) the community and stand behind hir edits. It's also a sign of respect to the community. When you're following an article and you see an edit by "JoeBlow" you have an idea what to expect because, after JoeBlow has edited a few articles, you feel you "know" him, good or bad. But an IP address forces us to look at the person as "new" each time, and see what's up.

OR, "you get a free copy of the magazine, but after a while you subscribe" OR "you take me on a date, but after a few kisses I want to know your name" OR "you sample a few grapes, but you gotta either put them down or buy the bunch."

Sorry for the stupid analogies. My bad. But you get the point. ;-)

C

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