What’s in a name???

As suggested by the anonymous “Swimmer” in another thread “the names people use on the site are completely irrelevant.” I must respectfully disagree. I personally give more credence to post made by people who are willing to tell us who they are, especially those who are active participants on a forum. And while there is no way to guarantee that I am who I say I am, none the less I respect the integrity of our posters enough to believe that they are who they purport to be. What if Martin Luther had tacked his 95 Theses on his church anonymously? Would we now have legions of Anonymousans instead of Lutherans? And what of a Declaration of Independence submitted anonymously because our founding fathers did not want their dissenting opinions traced back to them? OK, maybe a little over the top. I also like to know who I’m conversing with, so when chance brings us together, say in a stairwell at Indy, I can introduce myself and have an opportunity to really talk with anothers from our family of swimmers/posters. With all this said, I also respect an individual’s choice of anonymity. The rules of the Forum allow this and I would hate to see folks not get involved, because they fear letting others know their true identity. So for those posting behind pseudonyms, please continue to do so. Just understand that to some of use the use of our names is relevant.