McGrath, and I (and many others) have made this point over & over & over until we are blue in the face.

NO ONE is trying to find out who you are! Nor would the courtesy of using a consistent name compromise your true identity, even without being a member and having a cookie. Yes..it is possible to have something important to say without being identified, but as McGrath just said, people respond to other people and comprehend each other best in context. If you, Mr./Ms Anonymous Guest, were to start receiving typed notes taped to your door everyday, with various critiques of your life, wouldn't YOU wonder if it was just one grumpy neighbor, or 27 people?

If you don't like my analogy, just imagine the chaos HERE...right here in Mudcat, if NO ONE signed posts! The coherence of the forum would disappear overnight! Sometimes I attempt to answer a post, and 2-3 others have been made while I type, and my reply has to be read carefully, and often make sense only because I refer to the poster in my response. If there IS no name, it gets really confusing.

Put a bit differently, the only reason YOU are able to get away with it is that most do do it!...It is like littering or stealing...if only a few do it, it is tedious, but managable--if everyone does it, it is serious!.

Various 'guests' (well, maybe is is 'various...who knows?) talk about
how badly they are treated and are subjected to insults,etc....fascinating! A group of shadow posters create a problem, then complain when anyone mentions the problem!

Get this straight...it is just plain rude to claim special privileges for yourself(s) under these circumstances! The "guest" situation was not created to allow what you are doing....it was a way for newcomers to start out, or for situations such as lost cookies, or for those who need for a VERY GOOD REASON to post about a personal matter temporarily.....or just for fun, like the "secret Santa" game.

It is rude, presumptive and selfish to refuse to use ANY name! I DO NOT CARE if you are a 'member'...just adopt some way to keep guests A-Z apart!!!!!

(oh, did I mention?, it pisses me off royally?!) ah...there, I feel better for having finally said it.