NYTimes.com: News Sites Rethink Anonymous Online Comments

"Anonymity is just the way things are done. It's an accepted part of the Internet, but there's no question that people hide behind anonymity to make vile or controversial comments," said Arianna Huffington, a founder of The Huffington Post. "I feel that this is almost like an education process. As the rules of the road are changing and the Internet is growing up, the trend is away from anonymity."

I used to cringe at the callers that I'd hear on talk radio shows, but comment sections have gone way beyond that. Most of the comment sections of news websites have become a cesspool of ignorance and hate.

I think that banning anonymous comments help, but until you truly make public the identity of the commenter, you're still going to end up with mostly garbage.