When I started my account I was under the impression I had to use a monicker of some sort. I may have assumed I couldn't have spaces between my first and last name, so used my ebay name. I have since changed it on apug, but I can't seem to get it changed here. I prefer people know who they are talking to when they respond to me. I am, after all, a real person and not a computer bot.
LOL, but look at your face! Hiding behind a LF camera, how appropriate!Originally Posted by davisg2370
I do think many with bot names do reveal their real identities and locations over time. Some may have good reasons for hiding, but I hope not many. Perhaps they have political reasons!
Tin Can
I have two pet peeves:
-making lists
-irony
I said I don't mind people knowing my real name, I never said I want them to be able pick me out of a line up.
I was kidding.I don't care what you look like.
I like the camera head!
Tin Can
Report the post you wrote with a request to change your user name, and one of us will take care of it and confirm by email.
Rick "merry Christmas" Denney
Thank you very much, Kirk! That means a lot!
Oh, and my nickname IRL has been Winger for a long time. My middle name is Wing (it's a family name thing) and I'm quite proud of it (early settlers in MA).
The OP's Confusing Causation and correlation.
There's no obnoxious 'switch' that gets turned on with anonymity! A person who is otherwise a great human being, good to all, suddenly gets anonymity and is now an (abusive) boor?
I dont think internet anonymity is a crutch. I think it is more like truth serum. Like alcohol. We get to see what people are REALLY like. Usually, face-to-face or, when someone knows who you are, people are either too polite or afraid of confrontation to tell you what they REALLY think or how they REALLY feel. It's all fake.
in the 20-something years i have been on the internet
i have seen some weird stuff ... not just this forum ...
i have seen 45-50year olds make believe they were kids, women take men's names
( and visa versa ) so people would cut them some slack, and i have seen people
who use their real name/s who from time to time cause trouble &c.
i think people are just people and i don't think there is any correlation at all between good / bad behavior
and real / fake names...
probably the 1 in 10 rule applies. if you have ever worked retail
you probably know that about 1 in every 10 customers can be a "problem"
1 in 10 people using fake or real names can have a bad day too ... not much of a difference ...
people have stuff going on in "real life" it bleeds into their online persona whether
it is their real name or something else ...
A sampling of other voices on this subject:
Online disinhibition effect: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Online_...ibition_effect
Anonymity and the Dark Side of the Internet: http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com...internet/?_r=0
The Dark Side of Web Anonymity: http://www.businessweek.com/stories/...-web-anonymity
Anonymity of internet to blame for rise of online trolls:http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technolog...ne-trolls.html
How the internet created an age of rage:http://www.theguardian.com/technolog...ling-tim-adams
Does the Anonymity of the Internet Allow People to be Meaner?:http://www.wisegeek.com/does-the-ano...-be-meaner.htm
Cowards who abuse free speech hiding behind anonymity of internet:http://www.irishexaminer.com/viewpoi...et-181733.html
The Offensive Internet:http://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.p...=9780674050891
etc, etc...
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