'Anonymous Coward' is the username given to Slashdot comments without attached users. This fake account is used for a few reasons.
- Trolling
- Posting somewhat sensitive information that, for whatever reason, the poster does not want traced back to him.
- Posting comments that may not be quite inflammatory, but are nearly guaranteed to be moderated down. Obviously, this is only done by karma-sensitive users.
The 'Anonymous Coward' moniker is given to unregistered users, registered users who don't log in when posting comments, and registered users who have clicked the 'Post Anonymously' checkbox while posting the comment. Anonymous Coward posts begin at a score of 0, which do not pass through the default Slashdot filter which cuts off posts below 1. IP addresses of all anonymous posters are logged, so don't think you'll get off scot-free if you try threatening the President's life or something.