I'm not using the standard theme, and in the one I use (Core) the verified checkmarks don't display in the threads, only on the profile pages.

At first that felt like a bug, the more I thought about it though, the better I liked having them only be visible on the poster's profile page (as opposed next to every post they make).

I feel like having them visible all the time promotes a sort of arbitrary caste system (and I say that as someone who would probably qualify for a checkmark). If the point of the thing is to verify that posters are who they say they are, then it shouldn't be necessary to have the mark everywhere they go. It's something people would look up once if they care. By wearing it everywhere, it gains a wholly different effect that I'm not sure is intended, the differentiation between Regular Posters on the one hand and Good Posters Whose Posts Carry Weight on the other—a sort of cliquish, in-crowd distinction that in my opinion potentially does more harm than good.

If there's a problem with people saying they are someone they're not, the mark on the profile page does the job (although even then the absence of the mark says nothing unless there's also a 'verification failed' version).

What are your thoughts?