| Author | Message | ||
     notehead Citizen Username: Notehead Post Number: 559 Registered: 5-2001  |
OTOH (on the other hand), some of us have screen names that we like because they have some significance or meaning. My name is Mark Asch, but I was Notehead on AOL back when there were only 250,000 or so members, so I like to keep using that handle even though I dropped AOL ages ago, and also it hints that music is a big part of my life. I consider Notehead to be a slightly less imperfect version of my actual self -- he takes more time to think about what he says than I generally do! | ||
| crazyguggenheim Citizen Username: Crazyguggenheim Post Number: 365 Registered: 2-2002  |
Call me crazy, but Mr. Head, I thought the "note" in Notehead meant you liked to keep track of facts! Call me crazy | ||
| greenetree Supporter Username: Greenetree Post Number: 1611 Registered: 5-2001 |
People who know me figure out who I am from my screen name. I'm like JAB in that respect. Others have learned my name from private line transactions. I don't so much care about my privacy, since I reveal so many details about myself. It's more of a secutity thing; I worry more about some lurker knowing things about me when I don't even know they exist. For example- I hesitate writing about my travel experiences sometimes. If my name were posted, someone could piece together enought details to figure out which house in which neighborhood is going to be uninhabited. Perhaps a bit paranoid, but hey - better safe than sorry. I've been in places a couple of times when, after being introduced by full name, someone has asked 'Hey! Are you Greenetree from MOL'? I always confess - at that point I am meeting someone in person, so why not. I have to admit that there are a handful of posters whose names I wish I knew. I'd like to avoid their company and patronizing their businesses. Wouldn't it be a hoot if one of them turned out to be a neighbor who I really like? Hmmm - maybe I'm better off not knowing. | ||
| jfburch Citizen Username: Jfburch Post Number: 538 Registered: 6-2001 |
I haven't worried too much about privacy issues, though I can see there might be legitimate situations in which a pseudo was desirable or necessary. Mostly I figure that if I can't say it under my real name, than I probably shouldn't be saying it in a public forum. I've also been in various online forums for a long time and I think that anonymity/pseudonymity generally causes more problems of one sort or another than I think it's worth. But that's just me. | ||
| Chris Dickson Citizen Username: Ironman Post Number: 537 Registered: 8-2001  |
My real name is Duncan Rogers ... I just use this name BISC ... Because it sounds cool.  | ||
| duncanrogers Citizen Username: Duncanrogers Post Number: 438 Registered: 12-2001 |
Ah Chris.. and right up to there I was gonna buy a ticket to the party from my man Jay. | ||
| Ed May Citizen Username: Edmay Post Number: 1345 Registered: 9-2001  |
Duncan You met a candidate for TC in front of the library last weekend and when he introduced himself he said "the duncanrogers from MOL?" And you felt right there was enough to make you wish you had used a pseudonym? What are you going to do when I meet you when I am campaigning in front of the Post Office? (Besides check to see if my picture is hanging in the post office?) Ed May | ||
| Elizabeth Citizen Username: Elizabeth Post Number: 145 Registered: 7-2002 |
Before so many people started putting their pictures up I wanted Dave to run a "match the moniker" contest. Unlike algebra2, I know very few MOLers in person, but some posters have such a distinct personality I thought it would be kind of fun to see if I could guess what they looked like. Then I met Ed May and he didn't at all look how I expected . . . Beth Johnson Tucker (I had to be "Elizabeth" because "Beth" was already taken.) | ||
| Chris Dickson Citizen Username: Ironman Post Number: 538 Registered: 8-2001 |
Duncan: Please don't let my digression stop you from attending what is surely going to be a rockin' good time. In fact, all you MOLes should step away from the keyboard next Saturday night and head on over to the Women's Club. I am really looking forward to hearing the way cool ukulele infused sounds of The Jaybirds and Big Train promises to get y'all dancing! It's all for a good cause to boot! People get ready. http://bigtraintracks.com/shr.html | ||
| duncanrogers Citizen Username: Duncanrogers Post Number: 439 Registered: 12-2001 |
Chris Digressions are always costly. Ed, I will no longer introduce myself to anyone....EVER | ||
| Hank Zona Citizen Username: Hankzona Post Number: 564 Registered: 3-2002 |
Tom, I use my real name because, well, its the handle Ive used all my life, and Im pretty used to it by now. I understand some folks' concerns for privacy and security, but for me personally, I use my name because I dont say anything here I wouldnt say in any other forum or medium..I stand behind what I say and am accountable for it. Now most anonymous or nearly anonymous posters are good MOL citizens who consistently make responsible and accountable comments, but a handful are weasels who hide behind anonymity that emboldens them to say things they will not attach personal accountability to, for whatever their reasons. They can flame me for those comments, but the flames will most likely be...anonymous and unaccountable. Another reason I use my real name is because this is an online community that runs alongside a very specific and defined real world community...our towns. The people who post here are almost always our neighbors, co-commuters, parents of our kids' friends, the kids themselves, their teachers, people we volunteer alongside with for so many different activities and involvements. Instead of being anonymous to that finite group of people, Id rather be more upfront about who I am and accountable for what Im saying. And Elizabeth/Beth, I also do not know most of the people here personally. | ||
| Joan Citizen Username: Joancrystal Post Number: 1603 Registered: 5-2001 |
Tom: I'm another poster who has always used my full name on MOL. This board is such an extension of our community that it never even occurred to me to use a pseudonym in signing my posts. Anonymity is a matter of choice. Some posters, actually reveal far more of themselves by chosing very creative user names which say a lot more about who they are then their full legal name would. Others use their initials because it requires less typing. What ever you chose to do, most readers of this board will judge you more by what you say (or don't say) than by how you sign your name. Welcome to MOL! | ||
| Joan Citizen Username: Joancrystal Post Number: 1604 Registered: 5-2001 |
Guessing posters identities is just one of the things which makes reading this message board so much fun. Because so many of us know each other off and on screen, we are able to pick up a lot from the information posters provide and then try to match it with what we know about various people we have met in the bricks and mortar world of Maplewood and South Orange. I remember when Stomptap posted that he/she did a Bill Robinson and then exclaimed, "I guess I just outted myself." For the longest time I was convinced that Stomptap was my old friend and long time Maplewood resident, Bill Robinson! However, the comments Stomptap made in the following posts just did not mesh with what I knew about Bill. So, when Stomptap mentioned having lived in New England, I shifted my theory to Stomptap's being my friend Bill's son, Billy, who had gone to college in New England. However, this theory was disproven when Stomptap wrote about enjoying his/her first 4th of July in Maplewood and I thought of all the years I had spent selling coffee and soda with both Bill Robinson's at the Boy Scout refreshment concession on July 4th. Still, old theories die hard and it wasn't until Stomptap finally signed her full name to a post that I was willing to admit I had been wrong. Let the games continue.  | ||
| stomptap Citizen Username: Stomptap Post Number: 282 Registered: 10-2001 |
Joan--hee! That's fantastic  Definitely was referring to Bill Robinson the dancer. Still enjoying all kinds of firsts in Maplewood--TRASH PICKIN ROCKS!!!!!! Amazing experience. That's the latest first. No problem with signing my real name, pseudo, or both to anything...had to agree with Hank Zona's post on that item. See you May 4th--I'll be there and working with a local musician--any takers? Karen | ||
| Tom Reingold Citizen Username: Noglider Post Number: 33 Registered: 1-2003  |
Hank and everyone else, Thank you all for your well considered replies. People on both sides of the fence have respectable arguments. I think I'll leave my name on here for now. We're moving to Maplewood in June, and we'll be at the Mayfest on May 3. Perhaps I should wear a big fat nametag so you'll be able to introduce yourselves to me. Hey maybe we all should, although you'll have to endure looking like such a geek. I know I can. :-) This discussion has sparked far more interesting conversation than I had expected. I'm glad I did it. Tom Reingold, my real name | ||
| sac Citizen Username: Sac Post Number: 774 Registered: 5-2001 |
I'm in the same boat with jab, #9dream and greenetree. These are my real initials and lots of folks know who I am, but the ones who don't know me are less likely to be able to look me up for questionable purposes. I probably could have just used my first name, as Elizabeth did, but I can't change to it now because someone else has taken it. | ||
| jab Citizen Username: Jab Post Number: 34 Registered: 3-2003 |
Tom, you do not need to wear a nametag (or a "handle") at Mayfest, because we all know what you look like already.  Sac, is your first name Sbenois?!  | ||
| sac Citizen Username: Sac Post Number: 777 Registered: 5-2001 |
Nope! ... as I'm sure you know if you've read more than one or two of our respective posts. My posts are infinitely more boring and practical than those of Sbenois ... | ||
| Tom Reingold Citizen Username: Noglider Post Number: 35 Registered: 1-2003 |
jab wrote: Tom, you do not need to wear a nametag (or a "handle") at Mayfest, because we all know what you look like already. Oh you think so, huh? | ||
| jem Citizen Username: Jem Post Number: 718 Registered: 5-2001  |
You mean, that's not your picture over there under your name, Tom? Of course, that's my picture over here under my name. Joy Markel another initial-named poster, who says "hi" to her initial-named neighbor, jab. |
