When you reply to a thread, your username is recorded. When you reply via private message, again your username is recorded. Even if we as a Community decide that the Reputation function has no intrinsic value to our "standing" in the Community, I agree that, in principle at least, it would be nice if such comments were identifiable by poster.

Between reputation points/demerits and replies, I can determine roughly how my position is being received. And since the reputations have no comments, I place much more value and weight on the thread replies, since they note why they agreed or disagreed with my position(s).

Now, I admit that, to my knowledge, I don't have any "grudges" being held against me, so I have to discern that the negatives were in response to what I said, not that it was me saying it. For some, the reverse may apply, and I can understand the desire for them to know who selected what, so they can ignore it if they feel it was done solely out of spite.

(Edited to delete a comment due to new information on the color of the reputation codes)