Where I come from, emoticons can be thrown in to 'soften' any blatant stabs at someone. I agree it's horrible. privacy is a serious issue for some people, and discouraging them from being involved because of it is the wrong way to go.

NOTE: again, I am NOT concerned with my email getting out, I actively participate in many mailing lists and bugzilla posts.

My point is: Respect people's decision to protect their privacy, and do not ridicule them for making an active decision to protect it. Obviously the OP was not aware of the alternatives (such as creating a bogus email) that are available, and judging by the number of 'thanks" i'm getting for my posts, quite a few other members weren't aware either. Why not make these alternative suggestions available on the registration page? It's not acceptable to expect people who want to protect their privacy to just magically know the alternatives.