What's the purpose of Aliases in online forums/article comments?

Mine is a shortened version of my name that I've always used: Kit is my first name, Little is my maiden name. But I always think it's funn to see how other people see names (i.e., Kathy D Wells = Kathy Dwells).

My favorite was when DrunkkenArtist (who's known me for years personally, but didn't know who I was on SoWal--where the heck has he been lately, anyhow? ) saw me at the soiree one year and said, "Oh! Now I get it! I kept wondering, Who is this girl who likens herself to Kitty Litter?"

it has to do with the security to tell your peers exactly what you are thinking without having to be too diplomatic. at least for me it is.

I call em like I see em and am not afraid to speak my mind and take full credit/responsibility for it. Everyone knows who I am. Love me, hate me or leave me alone. I have an alias here because when I found this site I was looking for someone in the blue mtn area to go running with. That never really panned out though. Everybody else was using an alias. I guess I can finally answer my mother honestly and say YES, if all my friends were jumping off a bridge, I'd be right there with them.