Would it be better if Mahalo users didn't know who answered a question until best answer is chosen?

I know from experience that after a while a person can tell who wrote an answer without looking at the avatar. Many times there are little signature items of sentence structure and punctuation, answer format and word choice, picture and video usage, inlinking and source selection etc etc. Many times by the time a new user hits purple belt I can recognize their answers avatar free and when I vote I try to put it out of my mind as best as I can. Trust me it will happen to you as well.. you will recognize who answered blindly.

Every one of us has an easily recognizable signature answering style. With discussion and comments many times a commenter in a busy thread has to identify the user he/she is commenting to by username and anonymous answers would interfere with this. Typing "commenter #1" or "commenter #12" etc would get tedious and confusing.

Without identity in the thread as it is happening answers and comments would possibly (read surely) begin to lean towards abuse and abusive answers as having no name to answer to for their choice of words and/or statements the answers will likely get rougher and less helpful and the norm or positivity we like to carry here erodes from repeated frustration with these abusive answers and finally the abuse becomes the norm.. yuck. We need to rely on instant accountability and transparency to keep everyone upholding the higher standard that anonymous answers could not come close to regulating or holding, having the username visible keeps everything honest by keeping everything transparent. Although no voting system is perfect and there will always be flaws and disagreements with whichever voting system we use the anonymous answer, even if the anonymity is temporary, would allow too much room for degradation of answers and cripple too many discussions with "who dat ambiguity".

The users here at Mahalo are fair .. for the most part and when we find someone voting unfairly they are called out on it,.. sometime publicly right here in Mahalo Answers and sometimes behind the closed doors of email correspondence with Mahalo staff. It is not just the staff keeping a look out for unfairness and favoritism, we all see it if it happens through the spy view or voting patterns or ridiculously crappy answer being selected or voted as best. We are a trustworthy bunch of core users who will make sure the play is as fair as possible.

Nobody want to lose to favoritism of unfairness or cheating or gaming and the Mahalo users will make sure they do not have to.

I think it's a good idea in theory. Really good actually. It would promote fairness among not only voting for best answers, but the choice for BA made be the asker.

However, I think there would also be a downside. What I like most about Mahalo Answers is the conversations that start within threads. I don't think these would be nearly as open or intriguing if people's identities were hidden.

A lot of personality appears in the Answers community, and I think, without faces to the words, we would lose some of that. If that makes any sense... But, technically, it could work. This is a really great idea.

Maybe something similar to this could be tested out. Nice question!

I think that would be a great idea. Let people really read an answer rather than vote for the avatar or picture they think of in favorable terms. Yes, were not all well know so we'd like an equal chance.

I'm sure we don't do this on purpose, but its like with logos we see them, we know what they offer. And well often buy one product over another only because of brands.

I cant really gove you an answer,but what I can give you is a way to a solution, that is you have to find the anglde that you relate to or peaks your interest. A good paper is one that people get drawn into because it reaches them ln some way.As for me WW11 to me, I think of the holocaust and the effect it had on the survivors, their families and those who stood by and did nothing until it was too late.