[spindritf]

The threats of violence are usually empty posturing but there are other serious risks associated with speaking out online under your real name. In the US you can get "swatted"[1], which is an evil twist on usual pizza pranks. It's not far from that to getting shot (or having your dog shot).

Then there are basic SEO threats to your good name. And the old "taking information out of the Internet is like taking piss out of a pool." Whether the information is true or not.

I don't think this is an appropriate defence though. Sticking to usual good practices of not conflating anonymous personas with your real identity, using a PO box and proxy services (whether for domain registrations or actual network proxies) will be more productive. Not good enough when evading FBI but probably more than fine otherwise.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swatting