I have no problem putting my name on a comment I leave on some forum, I often do. What I can't tolerate is being forced to sign up at facebook in order to comment on my local news. Facebook has a plethora of problems, and it's way too intrusive for my taste.

I fail to see why the newspaper forces users into a convoluted relationship with any third party in order to interact with it. The only thing I can think of is laziness, or not wanting to pay staff to maintain decorum in the forums.