MAmatt1·Jan 2, 2011
It was a part of the restful authentication plugin I originally used to set it up [1] :)
For this app its necessary because I allow users to share the timelines they create and I display their user names on the shared timelines. Your train of thought is good though.
[1] https://github.com/technoweenie/restful-authentication
In I Eliminated the Free Plan from my Web App for a Month: Here’s What Happened.