speaking of lurkers
Has anyone else noticed that the posters on here who seem to get the most belligerent and “personal” in exchanges are the very few who have no profiles or private contact links available? (you can tell at a glance because they don’t have the little face icon by their user name.) Some similar forums don’t permit that kind of anonymity. I am beginning to understand why.
Personally, I find coming on strong while blocking people from contacting your directly (or revealing even the vaguest personal details about your location and interests) a little disrespectful and even a mite cowardly.
"private contact links available?"
You don’t need that “face” icon.
You can e-mail ANYONE by clicking on the e-mail envelope on the lower right hand side of their posts.
Every post I see has that! Because it’s required for this forum, just like any “other forums” like you said. 
Email link is not always there
– Last Updated: Aug-09-12 1:49 PM EST –
I think you are confusing your icons. Brent allows people to register and post replies on this board without providing email access, for example a thread that just went up here.
http://www.paddling.net/message/showThread.html?fid=advice&tid=1546741#1546837
There is no way to obtain an email for this user, who could as easily be a troll as uninformed about kayaking Lake Erie.
Without an email icon or an accurate profile, there is no way to contact someone unless they happened to use a screen name that is both unique and gets you to something like a blog or a public record in a search. Most people here aren't using screen names that would allow that to work.
I am beginning to agree that perhaps someone should not be able to post here unless they give at least an email. It might reduce the hysteria.
Later add - it appears that suiram has found a diff between the original post and the reply. Very confusing...
email link
I don’t really see how providing or not providing an email link would affect quality of discussion, especially when free emails are available left and right.
Don’gt disagree but…
I am old school and have some concerns about people having to provide info that might identify them too well. I doubt that many here are hiding that info for the reasons that concern me, but once some folks should be able to do it so should others.
The email is one thing that, in fact because so many of these services allow a high degree of anonymity, is harmless enough to require and just might help cool things out.
.
In order to post here, one has to be a member
To become a member, one has to have an email address
Ergo, everyone who posts, is a member, and has or had email address at some point
The link to the “Lake Erie Crossing” gives you ability to contact OP by the clicking on “Envelope/Email” icon/link later in the thread. I am not sure why The Owner configures the thread without such icon/link for OP, but I still worship Him and value His Service to the paddling community.
Perhaps you are confusing public profiles with emails? Of course, public profiles are just what user wants the public to see.
Of course, the policies might have changed since you became a member, but the email was required when I joined.
Hmm
I had not spotted that email shows up in the OPer’s replies. I do a web site for one of my orchestras and have helped with a local bike club, so know that having an email address to register for a site has little to do with whether or not it is visible to others. That is the choice of how the site is set up.
I don’t quite understand why it would be one place and not the other though.
Don’t know the details, but…
– Last Updated: Aug-09-12 2:03 PM EST –
... on MOST threads, there's an email link below the opening post. The fact that in that particular case there isn't one available in the opening post, but that later posts by the O.P, DO have the link, makes me think it's just a glitch in how this site works. I noticed a long time ago that certain members here could not be emailed via on-site links, but this is the first time I've seen that a person's no-email status might be overridden for posts that are replies, rather than original. Of course, if this is a program glitch that bypasses the member's no-email status, it might be that the email link provided for reply posts doesn't even work. Anyone want to do some testing of that idea?
regardless
the complain about anonymous poster is baseless.
suiram is correct that you can e-mail anyone on the forum. I’ve done so and had been contacted that way also.
This forum is no more anonymous than any other forum! And I may add no different in civility than most other “public” forums, by which I mean forum that are not “private” and only open to real world, due paying club members.
I see an email icon on every single post
I don’t know if something was editted after you posted, but when I go to the thread that you’ve identified, I do see the email icon on every single post…
Personally, I don’t see anything wrong with someone wanting to post on an internet forum without providing a means to be contacted privately/directly. Seems like that’s the point of an internet-based forum as opposed to a “email list” discussion group. JMO.
Check the original post
In the very first post of that thread, there is no email link. The curious thing is, replies by that same person DO have the link. Maybe he had no-email status when he wrote the first post, and changed his status later, causing the link to show up on subsequent posts. In that case, maybe if he started another new thread the email link would be there. All I’m doing is guessing at possibilities which might explain what’s been observed. In any case, what people have pointed out about email links in that thread is accurate.
Level of civility
I would certainly agree that your reply to willowleaf in another thread demonstrated that the level of civility on this board is no different from other forums…
You all keep arguing…
I’m headed to the river where I will drink beer, catch some fish, and float my little canoe for 3 days without my PFD on.
Hope to make it back Monday-- if I don’t then the news story will give you more reason to debate the PDF scenario.