Not as much fun using real names... Rather use a handle.

A bit too late to go back now... :p

I've found only a couple of "us" on the Internet, anyway...

I came up with my pseudonym back in my motorcycle days. Flying Merkel was an early American motorcycle manufacturer. Also made bicycles. It's the only online name I use. Run into folks on different forums now and then.

I try not to say anything to anyone online that I wouldn't say to their face. Hard to do.

I don't post my real full name on any public forum, not because I'm afraid someone is going to find me, but because identity theft and other crimes are greatly facilitated when a real name is revealed along with profile information. Not to mention all the spamming and phishing that goes on. Protecting your identity and privacy is already difficult with the internet, and I try not to make it worse by remaining anonymous in my posts.

I'm sure mines not to hard to figure out, so I'll leave it! ;)

I've seen other forums that require users to post using real names. One went to extremes, requiring all posts to be signed with the real name, and if you wanted to reply to someone, you had to address the other person by name. Of course, that restricts the user base there, to those who will play by those rules, which isn't many.

The issue here seems to be that you want some measure of control over what I tell you. I'll be honest, of all the forums here at BF, this one is far and away the worst when it comes to people asking for, and often getting, too much personal information. There was a thread recently asking to know what meds are you taking. The mods warned you about respecting people's privacy, and you pretty much laughed at them.

When I ask a bike-related question, I tell you what you need to know in order to answer it. You don't need my name, or anything that isn't directly relevant. As post #30 notes, when you publish a fact about yourself, you can't pull it back. You've lost control of it.

Prior to about the mid-90's, this was pretty much SOP on the internet. But then AOL connected to the internet and all the old "rules" were forgotten, and chit-chat took over.

So no, no real names. Not for me, and ideally not for anyone. I don't need or want to know who you are.

I concur. I do use LinkedIn pretty heavily and describe it as "Facebook for grownups."

Getting back to the name thing, I have explained my moniker, which I use on several other online forums, as well. When my mother asked my paternal grandmother what she would like to be called by her six grandchildren, the proper English lady replied, "Anything but 'Granny.' That was MY grandmother's name, and it makes me feel old." Of course, for a 10-year-old boy, that was an open invitation, so I started calling her "Granny," and she responded by calling me "Johnny" -- "Well, he is John E., you know." The good-natured ribbing continued in our correspondences over many years, with her often addressing gift cards "To John E. from his ever-lovin' Granny."

Ummm, have you been to the Road Forum? Fortunately, there's little said in the 50+ forum that people wouldn't say in real life.

I don't think my anonymity here is a shield for uncivilized behavior. But I still prefer not to use my real name. The reason is that I don't want all of my BF posts coming up on Google searches. There are people I know from other parts of my life who may not understand my cycling preoccupations.

A few years ago the legislature passed a law that would have allowed my name and address, and the name of everyone in my family, to be held confidential from any public record. My kids were in college and we were getting all sorts of calls and solicitations because their names and addresses were public. My wife is a lawyer in private practice, and getting the name and phone number out there is kind of important. So I opted out, and figured that anyone who has a bone to pick with me will know where to find me. There's a lot of nuts out there - in fact, I see at least a few of them almost every day - but if cycling has taught me anything, it's that understanding, managing, and taking reasonable steps to limit risk is important. But if you're afraid of falling off the bike, the only thing you can do is to not get on it. So I don't worry too much about being anonymous.

I like to post anonymously so my friends who know the grumpy real me don't see the softer gentler BF me. :rolleyes:

I use a handle, only because of identity theft, if you have my name and city, you can easily get a lot of other information about me, as I am the only person with my name in my town, having as part of a job needed to find out information about people, I know just how much a name and city will give you, when there are few people with that name in that city.

It's already easy enough to find out a ton of what should be private data about me, through legitimate "public" information. I don't need to add to it, or make it even easier for anyone.

Doctor is a title I earned, and I am known by my middle name and use that initial, J. It's also a play on words after the former NBA player That's probably close enough for government work.

My grandson Josh, who is finishing up pre-med and will be entering med school is already being called doctor J by his friends.:)

Woof woof (translation: +1)

I like Facebook. It has proven to be especially useful for increasing participation in the bike club and for staying in touch with family and friends. I only mentioned it here because most people there use their real names and that doesn't seem to keep many of them from saying idiotic things.

I'm not entirely sure what would be considered my real name. The legal name that no one ever calls me, that some people I've known for years have never heard? I actually do try to keep that name disconnected from my social/public arena. I have no expectations that real privacy exists anymore, but neither do I want to make the acquisition of potentially damaging information easier than it already is.

I could make a pretty strong case that ro-monster is my true name. I've been called ro-monster, ro, or just monster by friends both online and in meatspace for over 20 years, and I even think of myself as ro-monster. (It's short for rowan, which is the name everyone knows me by.) For me there is no division between the online and offline worlds. Some of my most profound connections have been forged with people that I had not met in person, and I may never have the chance to meet some of them.

Possible, but I'll bet you're not really *that* Michael Palin though. :lol:

my last name followed by first initial

I just like my cute screen name.

No one even calls me by my real name at home. I go with what I am called in the real world, for better or worse.

I actually have a couple of pseudonames...

The one I have here predates AOL... :eek:

There are some people that show their ugly side when posting somewhat anonymously, however on a well moderated board this is not an issue. The moderation teams have many, many methods of tracking that person and putting a stop to it.

I do sign all my posts with my real first name, done it that way for years. Some places you probably don't want your name out in public...

Aaron :)

No way with all the theft and scams going on, not to mention every goverment branch spying and trolling for personal info on the citizens. Thanks, Bob Barker

Jim from Boston, d'uh. Jim is my name and Boston is my venue, so it works well for me and is more informative than my real name. I'm perfectly satisfied reading posts and attaching the comments to an anonymous Electronic Entity. If someone rants and I don't like it, I just don't read it.

I just replied to a current post on the Fifty Plus Forum, “I met another BF member last night.” It just occurred to me that for almost all the BF members I have met in person, I still know most of them by their user name or their first name.

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...ber-last-night

BTW, I chose “Jim from Boston,” not for its utility, but because I'm an avid radio talk show listener, and when I (rarely) call in, I’m introduced as “…and now here’s Jim from Boston. What’s up, Jim?”

+1

I use it to keep in touch with family and friends. It's a great way to keep up with the grandkids and their activities.

Our family has a private group setup where we can share family information. It was helpful during the illness and recent passing of a cousin.