its easy. a person with a nickname is seen as more of a real person. you cant get around human nature, mortimer. and everyone has a nick and an anonymous number for when they want to protect their identity when asking about their privates or what-not.
that gives everyone two seperate names to post under. if you dont think people take pot shots at others anonymously, youre fooling yourself. if you want to play this game in a friendly social manner, a nickname is the ticket. i dont pay attention to numbers unless they really stand out, like the guy who was posting a lot on MH with the 19### number. otherwise, youre just trying to hide something. i havent got the time or energy to bother sorting it out beyond that, and i do more than most to keep track.