Sam,
I do not appreciate your aspersions and I think your hostile attitude is completely uncalled for. I don't know why me sharing my thoughts on this subject has triggered you into lashing out.
Sometimes that is necessary; some ideas need to be stopped.
I disagree that processing DMs today is such an idea.
You are attributing motivations to me that I do not have. Allow me to repeat myself, again: I see the question of real-life verification as central to the issue that was raised. I'm not the first to bring it up. I do not appreciate your dismissive attitude, it comes across as quite condescending. Last I checked, everyone in Debian was free to share their opinions, especially in response to a call for opinions.
To connect the dots more obviously, if there is a consensus that a contributor's online identity and reputation is sufficient for Debian's purposes then that answers the original question and clarifies the project's position on the subject.
I have no intention of continuing pointless quibbling. I have made my point. If other people agree, great. If they disagree, that's fine too. Let's just try to be civil and professional, ok?