Those who contact someone for information will be on average I think more genuinely curious about the answer than a casual reader.

People willing to do a rot13 should also be more curious than average; that shits a pain in the ass. Or just make the process even more painful (Actually I think this is what WN does at times, but it also has the added benefit of plausible deniability).

More can be said not just because it eliminates all sorts of bothersome social posturing but because the participants can agree to things like Crocker's Rules.

Social posturing is exactly what I see when people are too afraid to put their thoughts on the line (I mentioned this). I don't think it's healthy in a community trying to be less wrong.

Are we discussing Vladimir_M or Will Newsome? I have respect for both posters, but they have quite different views.

Both in the context of how they try to counteract the aforementioned consensus.