Genuinely I don't understand how people post under their own name or connect their accounts to their real identities at all. I learned early that my opinion can piss people off (even though I think I'm pretty milquetoast to be honest), and there are people with enough time and hate to make their disagreement with you impact you personally.

I started using a pseudonym about the time my consulting site got taken down by a DDoS attack because I voiced an opinion about a presidential candidate who's name rhymes with Meorge Mush Munior. People are awful.

A DDoS back then was what, one guy banging F5 on his keyboard for a while?

Well, the first profile I ever had was an Xbox account that was based on my real name, and I just carried that username onto everything else. So I just ended up having a username based on my real name everywhere. And I never bothered to restart my social life to get a new one.