Socks haven't been a problem here, as far as I can tell. The only way to determine such a thing, other than WP:checkuser, is by looking at edit histories, and comparing patterns of dialog, spelling, etc. in talk pages. Personally, it amazes me that WP still allows people to edit without registering. The overwhelming majority of vandalism and other nuisances are cause by IP's. Requiring registration for editing would drastically cut down on the nonsense, I think. And yes, a statement like the one from the IP above is a bit fishy. Being registered in no way increases or decreases "stupid conflicts" for good faith editors, does not in itself effect your anonymity in any way, and you're already "part of a community" when you edit here whether you're registered or not. In fact, a big motivator to register is that your IP is not exposed, which means people can't search your IP and find your location! If anything, that increases your anonymity!    

 ::