Lois & Clark Forums Forums General Discussion Fun with Polls By any other name.

My first poll (why am I so nervous?)

I've been curious about this ever since I was first introduced to the internet.

I've seen usernames that are clearly made up, and I've seen people use what appears to be their real name. Whenever I sign up at a new site, I never know if I should let people know my real name, or not.

So, I'm interested in seeing what the people here have done. This question applies ONLY to these fanfic boards. Do you use your real name or not?

I deliberately made this a poll, so that people could answer anonymously, if they prefer. If you would like to add a post explaining your views, that's OK, too!

- Vicki

When I first got on the internet -- and soon after first found the L&C mbs on the the aol abc site, I used a name that seemed real, but was not my real name. I still use 'Alicia' as a pen name because I don't want anyone who does a google search of my name to find out I write fanfic . . . although I recently realized that they'd find out if they searched my email address.

I changed my name on the boards and IRC because I was sick of talking to people calling me Alicia -- when my name wasn't Alicia. There is a whole post somewhere about why I did it.

Now I have (temporarily?) changed my IRC nick to Yellow Dart. Because, well, it's just a cool nickname!

- Laura "the Yellow Dart" "Alicia" U.

I had two reasons for joining the fandom under a nick:

1. A few years before I got hooked up to the internet, CB radio had been all the rage and after that, using nicks as a fun thing to do seemed to stick in all kinds of forums.

2. I'd been using the Doc. Klein's LabRat nick prior to getting hooked up to the internet, on a TV letters forum.

Er....

3. My very first posted story in this fandom was nfic, something which I'd never attempted before and which had only a short few months before scared the bejesus out of me, so I figured a nick might be nice in case I got run out of the fandom at the head of a crowd waving pitchforks...

Um....

4. I'd probably have used a nick anyway, even without the nfic, because I've got this thing about the government knowing way too much about me as it is and only giving them the chance to know as much as they can find.

Okay, so it was four reasons, not two. Anyone who knows me well will not be surprised by this inability to count simple numbers.

These days, there are a few FoLCs around who have my real name and I don't really have any aversion to using it. I don't use it or let anyone know what it is and prefer those I've shared it with to keep it strictly to themselves just because I'm still enjoying the fun of using the nick and prefer it. (I think this dates back to an Arnold Rimmer moment from my childhood, when I always wanted to be known by a cool nickname at school but couldn't persuade anyone to actually use one....)

As for your question, Vicki - what you should do? Exactly what you want to do! Most forums will have a mix of real names and nicks and you can always change your mind later if you choose to.

LabRat

Oddly enough, I use my real name on the boards. When we moved over here, I decided there was no real reason not to. The few fics I have are under my real name, and everyone on IRC call me by my real name, despite my nick -- which boggled me the first time I logged on. However, everywhere else, I go by Briana (my usual net name) or BriGal (IRC name).

When I began surfing on the internet I used a nick,wich by the way used to take me hours to choose and I was always changing it because for some reason I didn't really like it. So after a while I started to use a 'real' name that wasn't mine.

At the time I discovered the MBs I had stop chatting or doing anything that reaquired a nickname so at registering I tried to think of a nickname but ended up using my real name , the same for LnC chatroom on IRC.

I think I use my real name here because I just don't see *why not to* , I've been in the Zoom's MBs for 4 years and here since it stared, and never occured to me to change, and use a nick instead of my name.

ITOH if I go somewhere else where I'll need a username, I'm not sure I'll be using my real name...

Carolyn

Since my name is a common one, I usually use Mr_D8a as my id, but sign with James.

James (see!)

I guess technically, I don't use my whole name on these message boards, but I do use it on my fanfic, so I don't think it's that hard to figure out. I used my real name when I started getting involved online -- mostly, I think, because I was too uncreative to think of a nick that didn't make me squirm in embarrassment <g> "ChiefPam" was given to me by someone else, 7 or 8 years ago, and (being uncreative about these things) I've stuck with it since. Even though, for years, it made no sense <g> When I got it, I was the moderator of a L&C chatroom called The Daily Planet, so they said I was the Editor-in-Chief. But then the chatroom faded and for years I was chief of absolutely nothing Thank goodness I was able to scam my way into being an admin on these new boards :p Now my nick kinda-sorta makes sense again!

PJ
(who signs with her initials 'cause she thinks it's cool, plus it's very easy to type)

Since it's my poll, I suppose I should answer it, too.

The first time I signed up anywhere on internet, I used a real-sounding name that wasn't mine. (Veronica). And, like Laura, I felt so weird having people call me a name that wasn't mine that I never did that again. From then on, I used made-up names like "oceanbreeze" and "avidreader". It took me hours to think up those names, and as you can see, they weren't very good or imaginative, at that.

This is the only site that I have ever felt comfortable enough to use my real name. I guess that says a lot about the atmosphere here.

- Vicki

I voted for yes, although it's 'almost' yes.

On the boards, I use Anna B. the Greek. or simply AnnaBtG. (It had begun as Anna_B., but then I saw that there was another Anna B., so I changed it a bit)

The reason I don't use 'Botsakou' that often isn't that I don't want it to be known. Just that it is a Greek surname and it's clearly difficult for everyone to remember/pronounce/use it in any way. So, why constantly bomb FoLCs with it?

I do use it in the Archive and everywhere else, though.

AnnaBtG. (who, although in RL always thought her name was too common and simple and boring, is happy that she doesn't have to confuse the FoLCs with a 'seriously Greek' name like the ones she actually likes - Polymnia, or Amaryllis, or Glykeria... )

Since this is the perfect opportunity to confess... well... I use Julie as my pen name and nickname whenever I get the chance to use a name that isn't my real name, not because I think all of you are axe murderers and psychos that will come after me (though my mother might think otherwise ), but because I hate my name.

I don't know many people who hate it to this degree, but I think I might even legally change it when I am old enough. Since I can't really make my family call me Julie and it would be a mess to make RL people get used to it, I leave it for later.

Julie (who will continue using this name )

Well, I don't have a fixed pattern.
Sometimes, I use my real name. Often I use names from Indian(Hindu) Mythology. Lately, (as on this board)I've begun using letters from my name or simply my initials.

I don't think I have a problem in disclosing my real name. My e-mail address is revealing enough Maybe, it's a tad difficult to pronounce and remember

--AnKS
(Ankit Kumar Srivastava)

This question has come up before and I'm sure I answered it back then.

I had to vote other because, while Tank obviously isn't my given name it is a name that I've had since my college days and several people I know still use it interchangebly with my given name.

When Î chose to write fanfiction I found that someone else had already written a couple of stories under my given name so I had to choose something else to play in folcdom with. Using Tank became a natural option.

Tank (who also wanted to avoid all the Beach Boy jokes and references that he's had to endure all his life)

I use my real (first) name, but I'm a bit paranoid about giving out my last name. When I've used other names in the past, I never knew who was being addressed!

I use my real first name, too. It's actually quite nice here, since I'm the only one unsing that name on the boards. "Julia" is such a common name and everywhere I go (school, university,...) there are usually at least two or three other "Julia's". I used to dislike my name, because there were always so many others, but I've gotten used to it. Now I enjoy and really appreciate it, when I'm the only "Julia" around.

It's weird for me. People always think Winnie the Pooh. My real name is Ruth Anne. That's a mouth full when you add it to my long last name. I've never been sure whether my first name is both names or just Ruth. I just know when there is no room for an inital I'll put Ruth Anne and if there is room for an inital I put Ruth A.

Anyways....

My mum wanted to call me something else - Cody or Roo.... My family didn't like it so my Mum stuck with Ruth. At least I didn't get Ivy-Lily that I heard was circulated. That is so not me.

Also, for some reason my Japanese step-grandma loved Roo over Ruth. So everywhere I went in my small family (except my Mum's parents) I was Roo!

I only allowed my one prof to call me Ruth Anne because he had the COOOLEST Irish accent.

I hated Ruth Anne in elementary school because a bully would only call me that. C'mon her last name was Ham and she'd make fun of me? JJ

Oh and I'd get called Ruth Anne at home if I was in trouble. "Ruth AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAne!!!!"

You can spell Ruth either that way or Rooth. So I'm sure you see where Ru/Roo comes from. Also a lot of people I know have English as a second language and can't pronouce the 'th' part so I tell them Roo so I avoid being called Root.

What I really hate is that at work I cannot have Roo on my nametag. Because of that stupid Winnie thing so it doesn't sound 'real'. It's not fair because other people can at my work!

For example:
Aracelli -- so she has Sally (unfortunate because I love her real name).

Maritriny - Mar

Ronald - Ron (guess to avoid Ronald McDonald - he's my husband and I still tease him about that. He quit though a long time ago.)

So what do I have to do? Do I have to do 'switch' my name to Ru? That's not me. Roo is who I have been more than Ruth! I even looked it up Roo is legit form of Ruth and Rupert! Arugh. Grr..... *cough* okay I'm good now.

Oh dear.........did I answer the question?

I always liked my name, for 2 reasons:

1- it is spelled Vicki, not Vicky. (There were 2 other girls in my school named Vicky, but no other Vicki's.)

2- it is my given name, not a nickname. My mother wanted to name me Victoria, and call me Vicki for short. My father said the name Victoria reminded him of "stuffy old Queen Victoria". He said if my mother wanted to call me Vicki, they should just name me Vicki. And they did!

- Vicki

PS - what was the name of that girl in the parking lot in Individual Responsibility? The one who spells her name with an "i", not a "y" because she didn't want to be cliche? I love that scene!

That was Tiffani.

As for me, I use a nickname on the boards, archive, mailing list and all... and I actually use my nickname on IRC as well, although everyone knows my real first name there and calls me that.

When I first joined the fandom, I used Kaethel as a log-in name but didn't mind giving out my real name. Then as things progressed I realised no-one was thinking of me as Kaethel any more, and since I kind of like my nick, I started signing my boards and list posts as Kaethel. Since all my fanfics on the archive are under the name Kaethel, and people not actively involved in the fandom would have no idea that I have another name, then I asked everyone on the boards/list etc to call me Kae, so that no-one gets confused when seeing my nick on the archive. The only place where people still call me by my real name is IRC. Oh, and real life of course.

Kaethel (who isn't entirely sure her post makes sense, so in a nutshell, it's Kae on the boards and list, and you can choose between Kae and my real name everywhere else )

I have a feeling that people think my last night is made up...but it really isn't. My husband's family originally came from Germany (we think) and the name was probably Speer when they first came to America, but it's been changed since then. We do know that it was Spear when the town of Oakland, NJ was established, 'cause there is a Spear Street which was named for his family (one of the first ten families to settle in Oakland). My family settled in near Goshen NY, so there's a whole bunch of stuff up there named Bull or Wells...

So, I usually do use my real name, or my chosen nickname for chatrooms and stuff is RaggedyAnne...with the "e" added to reflect my own first name.

P.S. My husband once threatened to name our son "Lance" but I absolutely refused on the grounds that it was too redundant!

LOL, Anne!

That reminds me of a time when, for a training program I was working on, I had to fill an entire data base with names. I was so bored, I started making up names like Sandy Beach, Bobby Sox, Jim Nasium, Dan D. Lion, etc. Lance Spear would have fit right in!

- Vicki

Great poll. I'm faintly surprised there are so few of "us" - people who use made-up names.

I created "Meredith" when I needed a username for the dictionary.com forum . It was the name of a character I'd played in the computer game Ultima IV, and she was a paladin, so once I started emailing as Meredith the choice of surname was obvious.

As to why I use a false name - well, for several reasons. First, I have (or perhaps I should say had) a career in software development, and I didn't want my job to be linkable to my leisure activities. Not to mention I didn't much want my boss to see the timestamps on my forum posts. Once I started writing fiction - and romantic fanfic, at that - and then nfic - keeping it under a nom de plume became even more important.

Second, I chat about my kids online - not on this MB as a rule, but on IRC and on the dictionary forum. There's no way I'd want what I might say to be traceable to them - and even though they don't share my surname, my own name is extremely uncommon, especially in the UK. Last time I did a web search I turned up just one other person with my name, a scientist in the Netherlands.

Third... reading what Julie wrote, I realised I actually quite dislike my own name, too. Whereas I really like the name Meredith and, well, I picked it all for myself, y'know?

FoLCs who've met me in person know my real name, but they call me Mere, which suits me fine. I answer to either name in person, and I use my "meredith" email account far more than my others. Though I discovered last year that I still have difficulty using "Meredith" on the phone - go figure.

I actually have a couple of other nicks (and a mailbox) that I use for various private activities - one for discussing health issues on a semi-public forum, and one, barely a week old, for discussing Home Education issues on a mailing list where there are UK government functionaries present. I don't *think* that makes me paranoid... does it? Neither of those nicks has an actual identity associated with it the way Meredith Knight does.

Just thinking/writing about it this way makes me feel (and probably sound) schizophrenic. Really, it isn't a big deal. Meredith Knight is just me with a different hat on.

Mere (recently christened "Mad-Eye Mum" by said kids)