Md. Court Weighs Internet Anonymity – washingtonpost.com
My two cents, separate from any particular legislative requirement, is that on-line anonymity is:
- Critical to the ability of people to make political commentary and say things about their government. It is on a par with the secret ballot in this arena.
- Desirable (and immune from the kind of suit in the link above) for people making comments about corporate entities either as employees or customers. Bad restaurant reviews are a good thing, and anonymity prevents SLAPP suits.
- Faint-hearted (but not something that should be prohibited) in inter personal communications such as bulletin boards or forums. I would escalate faint-hearted to cowardly when the attack is ad-hominem, scurrilous, or otherwise despicable as so many of the flame wars are.