How about a change to the posting UI? Split the post into two columns, where the first column acts like a side bar and takes up about 20% of the browser's width, leaving the rest for the content of the post.
The side bar would contain information about the poster, such as a portrait, "member since...", name (link to pvt/home), company/institution (link to homepage). Most of this information can be taken from pvt/home except for the company/institution information.
