For one, you could tell idiots (whoever you decided they were) exactly how they felt, without fearing retribution IRL.

Keeping online identities separate from the real world worked both ways. It protected rational critics, trolls and shitposters alike.

The problem never was anonymity or freedom of expression. No. Social media is when life online went into freefall. Curiously, a pillar of its business model is melding real life with internet identity.