You request this because you can't tell from the URL, yes? Do you have some authors you'd have a greater desire to read?

I just got my invite to Medium and on some research saw where a notable dev (who's name slips my mind) was moving off then platform for a few reasons and I believe the URLs was one of them.

Now seeing your request I am thinking this is an interesting situation where it sort of levels the playing field (or could cheapen the experience) since you don't know who you're going to read based on the Medium URL.