Posters used to have the choice to be totally anonymous, post under any name of their choosing as per above, or be "authenticated" (registered with a unique email address). Authenticated users were distinguished by "(authenticated)" after their usernames in posts, setting them apart from any trolls who used the same names. Authenticated posters were numerous DataLounge's early years; over time, however, site culture came to discourage authenticated posting as attention-seeking and self-aggrandizing. As a result, most "authenticateds" stopped posting under their usernames due to personal attacks from anonymous posters.