Using Your Real Name in Forums

What do you guys think about OTHERS using their real names versus childish nicknames like "beezaur?"

I use markdi because it is easy and all of the good screen names are gone.


My real name is Mark Dikeman

my email markdikeman @ ao . om

I am markdi on cpf - cpfu and audiokarma and a few more.

I guess I have no imagination.

I don't see how using my real name can hurt me

Over the years, I have come to know some of my good friends by their nicknames on IRC and forums. In fact, I have met some of my friends from school online first, and we often referred to each other by our internet nicks instead of our real names, simply because we were so used to it. What I dislike is when people put so little thought into their internet aliases, like xx2sexy4uxx or sonicthehedgehog2000 as opposed to something like marxistpenguin. Lots of trailing numbers also tend to bother me. And then, if lack of originality strikes, I wish people would just choose something based on their name... like John Doe --> jdoe, johnd, jd2.

So no, I don't think nicknames are childish at all. (At least not the good ones as defined above!) They're a way of protecting one's identity online to an extent, letting you control who knows your name and who doesn't. (Just try and google 'carrot' ) ...But if you googled my real name, you'd see it everywhere, so maybe I already failed at keeping my name private online.

It's a bit of a tricky area for me...

I use my real name of Gary....but not my surname.....as I'm a LEO...and there is always someone somewhere wishing to complain about what they read on a forum..from a police officer..

I'm a cop 24/7 and my behaviour and conduct and even opinion off duty, is of equal importance to when i'm on duty..

The constraints on the lives of LEO is unbelievable at times.....and what we write on public forums..is just one example, i'm afraid...

I dont care if anyone knows my first and last name since my uniform and badge has a name tag. Also I've been using the same email address for past ten years or so but... After a messy break up from a 5 year relationship I started getting emails (didnt take a brain scientist to figure from who) that included stuff about my life. Stuff that only my friends knew and stuff that I sometimes shared on this forum. My life was kind of being followed and I was made fun of and my posts were shared with other people. So I changed my handle here on cpf. It's still my real name and first letter of my last name but there is quite a few of matt_j's around and only one polak187.

All I'm saying that if you are using your real name be ready to have your posts pulled somewhere down the line. Most of the time it was a positive experience but that once it was not so good. Sometimes when I need to get some reference to something I will search by my name but... if you say something retarded or share something hoping it would stay annonymous please be ware that it may turn up someplace.

Also they had a late night special about employers using internet to google your last name. So if you are Jim Brown aka 12inchesoffury and somebody finds it than you may not get that job unless you are trying to work for Vivid Entertainment.

matt_j said:

I dont care if anyone knows my first and last name since my uniform and badge has a name tag.

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So does mine..

But there's a difference between what I say and do on the streets, to what I write on a forum....

I'm more likely to be honest and forthright on here, than I am wearing my uniform...Or perhaps, i'd be less 'guarded' on here, might be a better way to explain it.......

I use my real name. When I started posting here I decided to not hide behind a pseudonym. By using my real name and linking to my real personal website it forces me to think before I post, and to suffer the consequences of being a jerk Therefore I often throw away posts that are written in anger or sloppy. This is me, it's not just an account that I can throw away if I get out of hand.

I have still been a jerk in the past and gotten into arguments that I shouldn't have, but I've certainly learned a lot about handling that which I dont think I would have bothered to do had I been anonymous where it doesn't matter so much.

I believe that I am a far better debater and more careful poster here because I use my real name.

Rreally, I don't much care what they use, but names that are 15-20 charactors long are a real pain.

What REALLY annoys me is people not putting their locations on the forum. This is a world wide fourm and knowing a persons location is helpful when answering a query.

I think a name, and avatar if you use one, should be somewhat representative of the person. For instance an old guy like me should not refer to himself as "babemagnet".

bjn70 said:

I think a name, and avatar if you use one, should be somewhat representative of the person. For instance an old guy like me should not refer to himself as "babemagnet".

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For those of you that attempt to understand my nickname (BentheadTX) it is not Clinton-esque but a reference to the type of bicycle I ride. Recumbents are shortened to "bents" and a recumbent nut is a "bent head" The TX refers to my prefered K2 and LuxeonV bin codes. Not really, but I am in Turkey now so Texas does not make much sense.

My first thought for a CPF handle was "MagSolitaireRox" but I was afraid I'd get sued.

BentHeadTX said:

...

My first thought for a CPF handle was "MagSolitaireRox" but I was afraid I'd get sued.

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now that we know how sucky m@g really is, arent you glad you did not select that nick?

In regards to the thread's topic,
Btw, i prefer to use nick name in internet forums simply bec i dont like people I dont personally know calling me by my name. It is just, annoying :nana:

I see valid reasons for all positions. I would not use my real name because of today's security concerns -- and future concerns I haven't thought of yet. Once it's out there it's out there. Some of the worlds first computerized census records were used to round up Jews for extermination when the National Socialists took over the Netherlands in WWII.

On the other hand, it certainly adds credibility to a statement when a real name is used. I would tend to expect business owners/reps to be more inclined to use their real names for this reason.

James S-
As usual, your post makes a lot of sense. I'm not anywhere near the communicator that you are. Psudo-anonymnity gives me the option to work on my communication skills in a way that I could not if I were forced to use my real name.

My name is LED, Green LED.
Friends call me punk.
:nana:

When I decided to stop lurking here and join up I had noticed lots of clever names and avatars. It looked like fun. Decided to use my "real" YMCA Indian Guides name and a pic from the section of our tribe's totem pole that my son and I made. In other forums I usually just use my first or last name.

Geoff

James S said:

I use my real name. When I started posting here I decided to not hide behind a pseudonym. By using my real name and linking to my real personal website it forces me to think before I post, and to suffer the consequences of being a jerk Therefore I often throw away posts that are written in anger or sloppy.

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That's a brilliant point well made....

What's in a name? A CPF handle or any online alias is just a sign of personal expression (or non-expression) IMHO

Back in the old days or IRC you could always tell a n00b was from aol by the three or four numbers after their nick.

I have been using Cromagnet as a pseudonym for many years and have become attached, or fond of it. It didn't come up on search engines except for me and a couple other broken links.

I recently decided get the domain and to my surprise, it was taken

The anonymity of the Web creates situations where individuals will not act like they would in real life.

I find that to be a bit disconcerting. If you wouldn't say it face to face, you SHOULDN'T say it on the Web.

I have noticed that the boards I frequent where real names are required, and where you must register, to be MUCH more civil and have significantly better interactions than where that is not the case.

CPF has managed to remain pretty civil without the rule, but I wish it was required here as well.

As my father told me when I was a teenager, "If you aren't willing to put your name on it and call it your work, then only two things can be the case: you are scared of the repercussions, or you are ashamed of your work. In either case, you need to be more cognizant of what you are saying. If you are afraid of someones reaction to the truth, you shouldn't be, if you are ashamed of your work, make your work better."

Bill

bwaites said:

The anonymity of the Web creates situations where individuals will not act like they would in real life.

I find that to be a bit disconcerting. If you wouldn't say it face to face, you SHOULDN'T say it on the Web.

...

As my father told me when I was a teenager, "If you aren't willing to put your name on it and call it your work, then only two things can be the case: you are scared of the repercussions, or you are ashamed of your work. In either case, you need to be more cognizant of what you are saying. If you are afraid of someones reaction to the truth, you shouldn't be, if you are ashamed of your work, make your work better."

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Those are wise words!

I really don't see a disconnection between "greenLED" and myself - why should there be? :thinking:

What is behind a name?
What is behind a nick-name?

To me it doesn't matter. Real name or not, you still have to filter through a lot of BS on forums (except this one ), just like in the "real" world.

My handle, "TBY" is actually the acronym for my name. It would be hard to see that, because the handle is vague. I am not trying to hide anything, but I am not into volunteering a lot of personal information either!

shiftd said:

now that we know how sucky m@g really is, arent you glad you did not select that nick?

In regards to the thread's topic,
Btw, i prefer to use nick name in internet forums simply bec i dont like people I dont personally know calling me by my name. It is just, annoying :nana:

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It could of been worse, a nick like "MagRoxSurefireSux" would of made me a bunch of friends. :nana: