What about cultural references in user names? The use of non-English words can reflect cultures other than American. Someone with the name &quot;Browncoat&quot; (a Firefly reference) may be younger than the name &quot;Krell&quot; (a Klingon in the original Star Trek).<p>I imagine there are other types of information that can be inferred from an alias. It supports the argument that metadata contains private information. As well whether use of pseudonyms provides anonymity.