Loria Aesir wrote:I think it's the same reason our forum names are our nations names.
Pretty much this. Max wants the new forum to be more closely integrated with the game, rather than a separate, tacked-on thing the way it is with Jolt (which is about as anti-integrated as you can get, just ask anybody who's been affilicted with the "I can't verify my forum account!" problem.) Thus forum name = nation name, avatar = flag, and things like your nation's type are displayed on your little profile box on posts.
And hey, it might encourage people who use one of the pre-built flags for their nation to come up with an original design so they stick out on the forums