Why I Don't Name Names On The Blog
As a policy, I don't "name names" on this blog. If I'm speaking about anyone negatively (or in a way that might be perceived as negative), I will generally refer to them in an abstracted and anonymzed form. The reason is basically just a cost-benefit analysis, and here's how it works:
My sense is that there is a high fixed cost to ever criticizing someone by name: if it reaches them or their fans, they are likely to be annoyed. There's also some variable costs, because e.g. if you keep criticizing someone over time then it's more likely to reach them, but my sense is that most of the cost comes as a high fixed cost for the first time you make the criticism.
Meanwhile, I think the benefits of "naming names" are mostly small and cumulative. I don't think most readers will notice or remember a throwaway critique, or weight it very heavily in future, unless you either write a long and detailed takedown or ceterum censeo at every opportunity.
As a result, I think the balance of cost/benefits as a writer stack heavily towards only naming names for criticisms if it's a person or group you're really serious about criticizing, and intend to criticize repeatedly over time. If you're just mentioning in passing someone or something that has annoyed you, I don't think it's in your interests as a writer to name them, even if not-naming makes your writing a little less clear and punchy as a result.
I'm not sure how I feel about this from a civic-minded perspective, maybe the world is worse because most people aren't willing to call out most other people because the benefits are diffuse and go to other people, and the costs are concentrated and go to you. But so it goes, if this is a collective action problem then I guess I'm part of the problem.
Incidentally, I think this is why there are swarms of Culture War writers who spend all their time critiquing The Opposition: they were already not going to be friends with the opposition, and already don't care if the opposition's fans are mad at them, and having paid the cost of engaging the bear it makes sense for them to keep poking that bear ad infinitum. Examples of people who do this and who are i.m.o. bad include [lol of course I'm not going to name them].