I think the defendants of this case deserve a lot more sympathy than they're getting. The types of remarks you make when you're an anonymous dude on a message board of only marginal repute are not the same types of remarks you make when your name and identity are known.
There's an argument for removing the ability to be anonymous, but I think it's pretty much superior to allow people to hide their identity, but take their statements with all of the doubt that you would an anonymous, gossipy rumor. Trolls will be trolls, and the best thing to do is ignore them, not try to out them and ruin their professional lives.
I would remark that the punishment of the defendants has been uneven and had more to do with whose identities were recoverable than who did anything wrong. About half the defendants were people who made one off-hand comment (e.g. "Get in line") and are now suffering extremely disproportionate consequences. Ciolli (Great Teacher Onizuka) didn't even take part in this behavior at all-- he was an outed lawyer-- and he lost his job over this. This smacks of opportunistic target-seeking.
On the other hand, posters like Pauliewalnuts, lonelyvirgin, and :D bordered on being sociopathic and I feel like those guys are getting what was coming to them. I also think there's an enormous difference between, for example, expressing desire to have sex with someone (locker-room banter) and making jokes about becoming forceful with that person, which most women would take as a threat.
There's an argument for removing the ability to be anonymous, but I think it's pretty much superior to allow people to hide their identity, but take their statements with all of the doubt that you would an anonymous, gossipy rumor. Trolls will be trolls, and the best thing to do is ignore them, not try to out them and ruin their professional lives.