Not really surprised...
...at the strong opinions about this.
fwiw, i wasn't suggesting that the website is flawed or not run well, quite the opposite. i enjoy perusing the site and my only desire was to offer ideas about how to make it better and more personal. i have a hypothesis that if posts were a little less impersonal, perhaps people would realize there is a real person behind the words and be a little less prone to lash out.
pantera, i'd not heard of people from here getting envelopes spattered in blood before. that sounds like big time crazy, and with it happening through the mail, i would imagine has serious consequences. scary that something like that could happen here. we all have our tiffs but stuff on that level is nuts.
as far as privacy concerns, well, everyone has a right to be as private as they want. i am not suggesting that this be MANDATORY, i was suggesting that this be OPTIONAL. you could always join and make your username, email, name, age, and whatnot anything you wanted - which is exactly the same thing you could do now. or you could leave it all blank. no one is suggesting you HAVE to add this information, Robert is kind enough to let you leave it blank if you desire more privacy. i'm not suggesting we change that, and I don't think yogi is either.
i love the searchalator addition and i think its great that Robert built, runs, and pays for this place. my desire is only to suggest things that might be fun and useful. i even cringed as i posted the mockup, knowing i was suggesting something that would create more work for Robert.
i was going to ask what the LPSG was, but then I googled. yowsa. i can see something like that getting interesting, should it get in the wrong hands. hopefully Robert won't sell the site to someone who wants to put us all on television for being part of the washing machine support group!