Is there a way / set of plugins that could enable discussion where each commenter is 'authenticated' with the site (via openid/fb/twitter/etc) but the commenter can still use a anonymous/fake name?
Basically we want to avoid people using other peoples email addresses and masquerading as them (in a university situation, its not difficult to work out someone else's email...)
if you want the comments anonymous to the site's visitors, you could handle this in your comments template by simply not outputting any identifying information. display a name derived from their id, and only show the nickname if they enter one.
Why not just use Disqus or IntenseDebate or any one of the other commenting Plugins, and let the third-party service handle authentication? That way, users can control their level of anonymity.
If you just need to prevent email address impersonation (but don't need anonymity), use Gravatar.
