Thanks for the interest, all good points.

Even in smaller groups though, people may be able to consciously subvert their mannerisms and still get their point across. Not saying it will be easy, but I wouldn't rule it out.

I agree with the plausible deniability point, but i think it can theoretically apply equally to small (and by small i mean at least 10 ppl) and large groups alike. There are many ideas that are not too controversial, but just touchy enough that plausible deniability would be sufficient to overcome the anxiety barrier. This would only work for comments that a user would have no problem being suspected of saying, as long as noone could categorically prove it.