Things are often more complicated than they might on the surface appear...
(Hi Eddy, I'm Max.... and yes, i drive V6's )
if you hang around places like this often enough, and long enough, one gets to know what people's names are... at least in terms of the first name anyway.... either someone signs it once in a while, or someone else, having met them for real, accidentally uses it in open forum, or a half dozen other innocent ways.....
There are many reasons given both for and against anonymity and the choice of whether or not to use "handles" , some of them commercial, some of them personal, some of them a matter of safety.
in fairness , this place is , while undoubtedly great, and really friendly, and populated by people of taste, ... still really rather "small" in terms of internet forums....
there are other forums i frequent , some for fun, some on a professional basis, some just to stay in touch with colleagues and friends.... that have in excess of 50,000 registered users..... and that is still in specialist areas.... still not talking about things like msn and yahoo chat rooms and the like.... with literally Millions of users....
Now, while I'm fairly comfortable with them all knowing who I am..... I MIGHT be much less enthused by the prospect of them knowing who my daughters were......
just using that as an example....
not everyone is comfortable with divulging personal information in the presence of complete strangers... nor is it currently safe of advisable in many ways...
so the habit of the "Nom de guerre" or Handle, is one that is often the rule rather than the exception... and in some cases is really the only sensible answer.... I do not use my full name in forums on the whole, although i am referred to by people by it, in those forums... and sometimes in print... on a professional basis.... but i don't go running around waving it on every post I make... in every forum i frequent....
in principle, i'm in favour of everybody using their real name ALL the time..... as along with that, goes a measure of accountability.... and in dire circumstances, perhaps legal redress, BUT... it's never going to happen... so some measure of self protection makes a lot of sense.
BUT there is also another side to it.... with the "handle" we can build a persona that is one we might not really be able to present in public.... one who can, for example admit to speeding.... taking acid, smoking dope, shagging groupies, and all sorts of other things that aren't necessarily considered "kosher" by normal society in public, but , for the sake of argument, when admitted to by a musician... aren't completely unexpected... but if you were an accountant instead... you might not want the partners and wife to find out.... so you hide it under an assumed name...
there are much darker sides to that as well.... and i'd hope no one here actually is in that place....... but the Scare stories have their basis in fact, and it's something all right thinking humans should be aware of, and for parents and the like, being aware and on guard is the only option.
i've just realised i'm starting to waffle...
but you take my point i hope....
Nice to make your acquaintance .
best regards
Max
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Topic: Handles? (Read 4779 times)