"Throwaway accounts are ok for sensitive information, but please don't create accounts routinely. HN is a community—users should have an identity that others can relate to."
Sure, everyone would rather be anonymous given the chance, but it's not what this site was meant to be.
I find this rule strange. The only people on HN I’ve consciously remembered are dang and a few folks who are so combative and painful to discuss anything with I just try to avoid their posts altogether regardless of interest.
"Throwaway accounts are ok for sensitive information, but please don't create accounts routinely. HN is a community—users should have an identity that others can relate to."
Sure, everyone would rather be anonymous given the chance, but it's not what this site was meant to be.