The conventional assumption is that online anonymity enables free-wheeling public comments that do not always enhance the level of discourse. Real-name policies, like the one introduced recently by YouTube in conjunction with Google, are largely considered helpful in encouraging civil discussion.

But TechCrunch contributor Gregory Ferenstein says there is evidence to the contrary --- that, far from improving discourse, the presence of real-name policies might even work against it.

Ferenstein notes the experience of Korean websites that instituted real-name policies for larger operations. The policy didn't lead to a decrease in malicious comments, but it did lead to increased hacking. Further U.S. academic research actually found an increase in expletives, too.

Ferenstein concludes: "The presence of some phantom judgmental audience doesn’t seem to make us better versions of ourselves."