Anonymity + a 2nd layer of anonymity = Fail

I tend to stay semi anonymous, not so much because I try to, but just because I'm too lazy to do otherwise. only possible exception is a local mountain biking website I'm a member on, or my local autoX club's website. the places I have become less anonymous, it's just a first name basis, and Tom is a pretty damn common first name, so I'd venture a guess that I'm reasonably safe from anyone who doesn't feel like tracing my IP to my house and all that jazz, and that more or less requires that the government signs your paycheck

I prefer to remain somewhat anonymous. But I also prefer to keep my usernames on various boards the same, mostly because of what Hess mentioned about the few jerks who kept flipping names.

I did change my avatar recently, but that was because I had just watched 'Dr Strangelove' again.

What Keith said. Don't say and do things you wouldn't be fine with having your name by, and you have no problem.

Anonymity on the internet breeds trolls and contempt. People don't act right hiding behind screen names. They think they're masked vigilantes, meting out some twisted sort of online justice.

Present company excluded, of course.

And I should disclose, my real name is Buzz Derby.

Exif data in any gps enabled cell phone picture...

Look it up.

Think about what your daugther/son/wife is sending her "friends" right now...

There's exif data, and a second kind of embedded meta data that I can't recall the name of right now. Captures a LOT of information and puts it into the picture. A LOT.

And any half-competent programmer -- even me! -- can write a program that extracts that info. Matter of fact, I did just that about a month or two ago at work. Took about a half-hour to write it. Works really well.

Big ego wrote: I guess you could argue that rocket from the crypt is played out, but I'm at that age where everything I like is played out.

RFTC will never be played out. It is too bad that the tat will not get you into any more free shows though. I wonder if Reis will let it slide for a night marchers gig? The ditchdigger moniker I have been using for the last decade is indeed a Rocket reference.

I was just watching MST3K the other day and marvelling at some of the clever names and decided to use some of the good ones for a few posts each. I planned on stopping after Splint Chesthair. I intentionally left the panasport avatar and signature so that any one who cared could recognize me.

I use the same name on every forum I sign up for, nitroracer is probably sitting all over the internet. I don't intend to offend anybody but I do like to have a sense of humor and that isn't always taken the right way.

On the other hand, I did google myself to see what came up a few weeks back and went around deleting a few things I didn't need around anymore. I also locked out as much facebook information as possible (even though I don't use excessively) because I want to have a good shot at internships and jobs so I can pay off all this schooling I am going through.

Tim Baxter wrote: There's exif data, and a second kind of embedded meta data that I can't recall the name of right now. Captures a LOT of information and puts it into the picture. A LOT. And any half-competent programmer -- even me! -- can write a program that extracts that info. Matter of fact, I did just that about a month or two ago at work. Took about a half-hour to write it. Works really well.

Exactly..

So think about this.. Your daugther/son/wife sends some pics to their "friend" on the internet who sends it to a friend who sends it to a scumbag who happens to pull said data and now knows the exact GPS coordinates of your house.

When I was in college another anthro major did a study on anonymity and language use on XBOX live, I believe he came to the conclusion (or I should say I think, because I didn't read his report, only his poster) that basically, a normal person + an audience + anonymity = racist, violent, and profane language, especially in young people. I like semi-anonymity, but my name here Is my last name. It's rare, but there are still a few around, and even another one (that i know of) with the same first name as me. And i'm pretty sure we're all related

And for the record, I haven't changed this name ever. Add @aol to the end and you have an email i've had since i was in 4th grade, and still use. I never change anything.

I use the same name on every website I post on, except ADV Rider because the site wouldn't let me.

I don't expect anonymity. The names people choose for themselves often say more about who they are, than the ones their parents gave them.

Go ahead and google me. You won't find anything about me other than my Linkdin account, which is fine. There are however some other very interesting Dave Estey's out there.

Don't want people to see you writing inappropriate things? Then don't write inappropriate things.

Rufledt wrote: When I was in college another anthro major did a study on anonymity and language use on XBOX live, I believe he came to the conclusion (or I should say I think, because I didn't read his report, only his poster) that basically, a normal person + an audience + anonymity = racist, violent, and profane language, especially in young people. I like semi-anonymity, but my name here Is my last name. It's rare, but there are still a few around, and even another one (that i know of) with the same first name as me. And i'm pretty sure we're all related And for the record, I haven't changed this name ever. Add @aol to the end and you have an email i've had since i was in 4th grade, and still use. I never change anything.

Your friend must be Penny Arcade...

NSFW, but amusing: ADMIN EDIT: NO CUSSING.

Slyp_Dawg wrote: I tend to stay semi anonymous, not so much because I try to, but just because I'm too lazy to do otherwise.

This.

Trail my name to a few hotrod boards and you'll learn more about me. Can't imagine why.

Dammit. Osterkraut beat me to it.

But, yeah, any message board I participate on or register for I do it with the same screen name.

jg

P.S. My real name Is Mike White, idiots.

JG Pasterjak wrote: Dammit. Osterkraut beat me to it. But, yeah, any message board I participate on or register for I do it with the same screen name. jg P.S. My real name Is Mike White, idiots.

my real name is Henry Rollins...

DaveEstey wrote: Go ahead and google me. You won't find anything about me other than my Linkdin account, which is fine. There are however some other very interesting Dave Estey's out there. Don't want people to see you writing inappropriate things? Then don't write inappropriate things.

Ditto. I googled myself a few different ways. If it use one or the other, screen name and real name, but not both, it took until page 15 to find something that I did put out on the net in either search. Not even my Facebook profile shows up after 20 pages.

If I combine the terms, I easily "found myself" with a GRM posting taking the top 3 spots. Go figure.

Brian

Big ego wrote:

JG Pasterjak wrote: Dammit. Osterkraut beat me to it. But, yeah, any message board I participate on or register for I do it with the same screen name. jg P.S. My real name Is Mike White, idiots.

my real name is Henry Rollins...

Mine too!

Sincerely,
berkeleywad E36 M3dick

i just don't have the memory capacity required to have more than one username. i'm too old to keep it all straight.

Keith wrote: I just don't write anything I wouldn't be willing to put my name to, because I'm anything but anonymous online. Regardless, it's a good way to work. I take someone a lot more seriously if they're willing to put their name behind their statements as well.

This is how I figure it - I don't say anything online that I wouldn't say in real life, so I'm not too concerned about it.

I periodically google my name to see what turns up; it turns out there's some guy who's a rocket scientist at NASA who has the exact same name as I do, and he takes up about the first ten pages of results.

stuart in mn wrote:

Keith wrote: I just don't write anything I wouldn't be willing to put my name to, because I'm anything but anonymous online. Regardless, it's a good way to work. I take someone a lot more seriously if they're willing to put their name behind their statements as well.

This is how I figure it - I don't say anything online that I wouldn't say in real life, so I'm not too concerned about it.

My lack of an internal filter hurts me in real life just as much as online. I was raise by a couple of baby boomers and always taught to think for myself and speak my mind.

Sometimes though, I need to learn to bite my tongue.

I was raise by a couple of baby boomers and always taught to think for myself and speak my mind.

I am a baby boomer, and my depression-era parents always told me to keep my mouth shut.

z31maniac wrote: My lack of an internal filter hurts me in real life just as much as online. I was raise by a couple of baby boomers and always taught to think for myself and speak my mind.

Nothing wrong with thinking for yourself and speaking your mind. Just have the courage to admit who you are instead of hiding behind a pseudonym.

Our local paper has a section called "you said it!" where people send in little anonymous rants - kinda like short letters to the editor without any accountability. It's easy filler for the paper but complete garbage.

I really think a lot of this kind of stuff depends on the subject matter of the places one decides to post. I use this nickname here, on vwvortex, and pretty much on all the car stuff..and really don't care if the real name gets out. Some of the Triple Awesome League races have been pretty hilarious on the xBox live headset, since we go back & forth between real names, GRM nyms, and XBL nyms. "Oldtin, uh, I mean Tom, er, Coronel, I'm coming up on the right.." And by the time I finish saying it, we've already collided.

OTOH, I use a completely different nym on the atheist stuff I participate in. On such a socially "hot-button" topic, there's a lot of weirdness. I started talking about that stuff in about 1995, and after a few posts under my real name, I reverted to a nym after a couple of threats. Thank goodness that original board is long gone, so there's no connection from my "atheism" nym to my real name. It's been awhile since I searched, but I haven't found anything that a future employer (or the nuts at the Westboro Baptist Church ) could use against me.

Again, for me it's about the subject matter. Here, I got no problem. Over there, I want to be as berkeleying anonymous as possible, even if I'm staying away from the freaks and not trying to provoke them. There's some strange people in the world, and it seems like the internet's done nothing but give them a new hobby.

Big ego wrote: Here's a hint. No matter if the person changes their name... Click on link and go to their profile. their profile url will list the original name they signed up under. For example mine says.. http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/community/Ignorant/ But my name is Big Ego right now.. get it?

Thanks for the tip. "Ya learn something every day"
It was just the other day in the Leaderboard thread that I questioned who is "Big Ego" which was in the top 10 but I could not place the name.
Mine is my initials and the address of the first house I bought. The combination was first used in setting up my first personal email address about 15 yrs ago with aol. I no longer use that email but the odd and easy to remember alpha-numeric combination has stayed with me. It was first used here on GRM about 10-12 yrs ago.
-John

Keith wrote: Nothing wrong with thinking for yourself and speaking your mind. Just have the courage to admit who you are instead of hiding behind a pseudonym.

I think that's nonsense.

The statement should stand on it's merit, and you should be smart enough to judge it regardless of who said it.

If I used a fictitious name, or my own name, what does it possibly mean to you? You don't know me, and you never will.

Now, that aside, I think some of you guys take this stuff a little too seriously.

For the record, I'm far nicer online than I am in person