Because he's the guy who, when asked for ID to prove he's 21 when entering a bar, shows a piece of paper with "Date of birth: 21 years old" sharpied on it, and when the bouncer says "yeah this isn't actual ID" the guy goes "WOE IS ME! IF I GET THIS TREATMENT AT THE DOOR, IMAGINE WHAT THE ACTUAL BAR WOULD BE LIKE! I DO NOT HAVE THE COURAGE TO WALK PAST A DOOR SUCH AS THIS, ALAS, HORATIO" and feigns fainting.

What is dangerous and does affect me, indirectly in this case, is the online mob behavior and bullying. That does real harm to people and to our society. For example, whoever the real Satoshi is, would they ever want to be subjected to this?

In this case, it's nuts because everyone agrees on what the standard of evidence is, including him, and he's refused to provide it and acting hurt that people are sceptical. Many people gave him the benefit of the doubt when Gavin et al vouched for him; it's entirely his behavior afterwards that has turned people against him.

That said, if someone came out and proved themselves to be Satoshi, it would be a fairly big deal to the Bitcoin world. Satoshi himself has a lot of Bitcoins sitting under his control that he hasn't done anything with. Coupled with the fact that he was the original creator, his opinions would probably have a lot of weight behind them - and this is important when recognizing that Bitcoin right now is at a bit of a cross-roads, with people uncertain on how to proceed.

That said, I'm not heavily involved with Bitcoin, and while it was obvious to me (and most other people) that Wright isn't Satoshi, I wasn't yelling or calling for his head, and I don't really think there were that many other people doing that either - they were just a few loud mouths. All that said, you do have to keep in mind that, because of the power that Satoshi could wield, and the fact that some people have a lot invested in Bitcoin, I can understand the backlash over someone pretending to be Satoshi and potentially messing things up for everybody else.

First, Satoshi solved a very significant intellectual problem: how to allow a group of people, who may have antagonistic members, to collude successfully. It is known as "The Byzantine Generals' Problem." What else does this person understand or have insight into?

Second, people are innately curious. Who is this person and what motivates him or her? Was this done out of curiosity or financial gain or just plain "because I could?"

Third, Satoshi is sitting on a huge cache of coins when he or she started the process. Is there any intent to use them? If someone could steal the keys to these blocks, it would a major "bank heist."

It'd be a significant claim if Mark Zuckerberg claimed to be a lost son of the late Steve Jobs and people would expect him to prove it. It'd be scandalous if the DNA test came back negative and would clearly peak people's interest in Mark Zuckerberg's character.