bluejak, on 2013-October-23, 17:50, said:
According to forum rules:
"It is often unsuitable for players to be named in cases posted to these four forums, unless a poster is naming himself, or has the agreement of the person named. So posts should generally not name players, though giving the perceived level of a player is normal. If a poster considers a post should name a player or players for a particular reason he can seek advice from a moderator first, giving the reason."
There have been cases where players are identifiable, which is generally considered to be a breach of the above, though it is a judgement based on how identifiable. Many months ago a poster claimed someone was identifiable, and someone who never posts here was invited to support him by also claiming it was identifiable. It is not our policy to make great efforts to stop someone with such a mind from finding out.
But this case is different. As soon as a link was posted to a website where players can be easily identified then in my view the forum rules were breached. I have deleted the offending post, and also another post that quoted it in full [for no apparent reason].
So while I am not worried about whether people whose aim is to cause trouble could find something out I am worried when people make identification very easy, and that is not permitted in these forums.
I am unconvinced that this practice is best or even practical. It should be normal to be able to report what happens at the table. This is completely analogous to what happens in sports everywhere. Can you imagine a report "the goal was disallowed because a player who we can't identify was offside."
In addition publicity and technology have arguably cleaned up many sports. Hiding the actions of players does little to progress fair play.