What do you call yourself?

[Kati Compton]

Do you use a handle? Do you use your real name? Do you try to prevent people knowing your real name? I'm just curious.

As for me - I'm a bit paranoid, myself. I think most people are fine. But not all, and it's *those* people I worry about. ;) I have my real name in work-related web pages, but for forums, I use a handle. I may loosen up at some point, who knows.

My mother is horrified that my name is anywhere online other than email. My husband uses his real name all the time. As usual, I'm somewhere in the middle of two extremes...

[ThomasC22]

I use a handle because I've found online it can actually be a more unique identifier than an actual name. For example, if you search by my name in google you get this guy (http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~pardos/TomC.html) who died in the Civl War (not me btw, but I do dig the mustach growing into your sideburns thing!).

Where as if you search by ThomasC22 you get all the useless junk I've posted on the web ;)

[Pony99CA]

Do you use a handle? Do you use your real name? Do you try to prevent people knowing your real name? I'm just curious.

I use a handle as my forum name, because it's also my AOL screen name (and my handle on other sites). However, I sign all my posts with my real first name.

So how should I vote? :-)

Steve

[Kati Compton]

I use a handle as my forum name, because it's also my AOL screen name (and my handle on other sites). However, I sign all my posts with my real first name.

A handle - But I don't hide my real name. :)

[Kati Compton]

Where as if you search by ThomasC22 you get all the useless junk I've posted on the web ;)

So what do we search on to find the USEFUL stuff you've posted on the web? <duck>

[pewter_tankard]

So what do we search on to find the USEFUL stuff you've posted on the web? <duck>

There's useful stuff on the Web? Where have I been surfing these last few years

[Pony99CA]

I use a handle as my forum name, because it's also my AOL screen name (and my handle on other sites). However, I sign all my posts with my real first name.
A handle - But I don't hide my real name. :)
Ah, "But I don't hide my real name / It's based on my real name" was an OR condition, not an AND condition. (I knew it wasn't a division, at least. :-))

Steve

[Sslixtis]

Ok, so what do I put? I use a Handle because it is unique and I have no trouble with it being available wherever I go :wink:

I'm not really worried if people know my real name but it's just too hard to use online and the Barbie jokes do get a bit old :lol: :twisted: :lol:



Ken

[Oreocat]

I use a handle for everything unless my real name is necessary.

Been to too many training classes on stalkers and personal security to feel comfortable giving my name out. Not that that would stop anyone...but why make it any easier for the whackos out there?

'sides, I get a kick out the fact that my cat will lick an oreo to death in just a few minutes.... :lol:

Oreocat

[Janak Parekh]

How about "none of the above"? :-P

I usually post with my handle and hide "my true identity"... but as you can see to the left, weird things are happening. ;)

BTW, Google and news.google searches on BigDaddyJ show up a lot of posts of mine, but not all mine. I should have followed Tom's and Steve's convention of throwing a number in there. "BigDaddyJ321"? :lol:

--janak

[Dave Beauvais]

I generally don't include my full name in the various forums I participate in, but I don't go to any extreme measures to hide it. (It's on my Web page (http://www.beauvais1.com/) and at the top of the product reviews I've written.)

I do, however, make a strong effort to conceal my various e-mail addresses due to the sheer amount of spam that I get already; no use making it easy for them to send me more. My e-mail address does not appear anywhere on my site. I will add a contact form on the off chance that someone wants to comment on something, but because of a-hole spammers, I don't feel as though I can put a simple mailto link up anymore. :x

Edit: Okay, well, now that I'm officially part of the Thoughts Review Team I guess my full name is out in the open and Decius must bid you farewell. ;)

--Dave

[Jeff Rutledge]

My handle is just my initials. Nothing deeper than that. I do try to keep my email a little more concealed though.

[Pony99CA]

BTW, Google and news.google searches on BigDaddyJ show up a lot of posts of mine, but not all mine. I should have followed Tom's and Steve's convention of throwing a number in there. "BigDaddyJ321"? :lol:

I didn't put the 99 there to disambiguate my handle. In fact, the CA is actually there for that purpose.

I drive a '99 Mustang (a "pony car"). I had to add the CA (I'm in California) because Pony99 was taken on AOL.

Steve

[Pony99CA]

I generally don't include my full name in the various forums I participate in, but I don't go to any extreme measures to hide it. (It's on my Web page (http://www.beauvais1.com/) and at the top of the product reviews I've written.)

I would never want someone to easily find my real name. Given that, it's much easier to locate someone in person.

I was chatting with a girl on the phone once, and joked I'd drop by. She said I didn't know where she lived, so I typed her phone number into a reverse directory. Not only did I tell her her address, but her mom's name, her mom's business name and the address of that business. She was amazed.


I do, however, make a strong effort to conceal my various e-mail addresses due to the sheer amount of spam that I get already; no use making it easy for them to send me more. My e-mail address does not appear anywhere on my site. I will add a contact form on the off chance that someone wants to comment on something, but because of a-hole spammers, I don't feel as though I can put a simple mailto link up anymore. :x

Yeah, spammers suck. I use a simple mailto link on my site, but it's hard to assess if I get spam from it.

If you want to use a mailto link, but don't want spammers to find it, maybe one of the following tricks would work (tested under Mozilla and IE 6):

* To avoid spammers reading your HTML and searching for "@", use the following:

<A HREF="mailto:biteme&#64spammerssuck.com">
biteme&#64spammerssuck.com
</A>

It will look like: [email protected] (biteme@spammerssuck.com)

* If you're worried the spammers may actually load your page and search for "@", the above won't work. Create a GIF with your E-mail address in text form (email.gif, for example) and use:


<A HREF="mailto:biteme&#64spammerssuck.com">
<img SRC="email.gif" ALT="[biteme&#64spammerssuck.com]" ALIGN=MIDDLE>
</A>

That will look like: email.gif (biteme@spammerssuck.com).

The ALT tag is optional, of course.

If they search for "mailto:" instead, and copy text until the quotation marks, many E-mail programs will choke when they don't find the "@".

Another trick would be to seed your Web page with fake E-mail addresses (like [email protected] :-)), in META tags or invisible text, so that spammers harvest garbage. Even more fun might be providing an invisible link to a Web page with millions of fake E-mail addresses. :-D

Steve

[Janak Parekh]

* If you're worried the spammers may actually load your page and search for "@", the above won't work. Create a GIF with your E-mail address in text form (email.gif, for example) and use
This is actually a very good idea. Don't know why it didn't occur to me before.

Right now, I just post "email janak at domain dot com" or some textual equivalent thereof. An image is far more readable. :)

Time to go changing my websites...

--janak

[Jason Dunn]

Great thread guys!

Myself, I'll normally use Jason Dunn if it's a community where I might/should be known - it's sort of a branding thing. I'm a walking brand. :lol:

On other forums where I want to be a bit more anonymous, I'm a variation of "kensai".

[numo]

Real name in e-mail and news, handle in the forums, IRC etc. Generally I use what is usual in the given form of communication. I have the nick since I was 6 or so - I have no idea what it is based on anymore. I did not use it much later. When the IRC came and I needed something, I recycled it.

I have no problem with people knowing my real name. And my e-mail leaked so many times that if it leaks once more, it probably won't make any difference in the amount of spam I receive...

[Pony99CA]

* If you're worried the spammers may actually load your page and search for "@", the above won't work. Create a GIF with your E-mail address in text form (email.gif, for example) and use
This is actually a very good idea. Don't know why it didn't occur to me before.

Right now, I just post "email janak at domain dot com" or some textual equivalent thereof. An image is far more readable. :)

The GIF idea wasn't mine; I read it somewhere, but I don't remember where, so I can't give appropriate credit. :-(

The $#64 idea may be mine, or it may have been part of the same suggestion the GIF idea came from. When I was writing up the GIF idea, I remembered there was another part to it, but I couldn't remember what it was. Maybe the $#64 was that part.

Steve

[Benzmac]

I use my Screen Name because I have been using it for the last 5 years or so. Everyone close to me knows who Benzmac is. The name was given to me at work and it stuck. Also, on the sites I own and moderate, my name is in clear print in my signature.

www.mercedesshop.com
www.mbautowerks.com

[Gremmie]

Mine is a derivitave from a little known--but good--Pearl Jam song. Unique names and avatar makes it easy to remember people across my posts across the multiple boards.

[KyleC]

I picked the "Handle-but based on my real name" option because my first name is Kyle and my last name, um, begins with C. I'm still a little concerned at reavealing my full name per se :oops:

[Jhokur2k]

Handle, actually the handle I have to use when something happens to my main account... Normally I just use Jhokur, which came from joker, as in The Joker from Batman (same wacko grin), but everyone had joker, so I phoneticized (is that a real word?) it to Jhokur, after I met a guy in high school named Jhon.

*gets dizzy* :lol:

[Kaber]

I'm not telling you anything. :twisted:


just because you're paranoid
don't mean they're not after you

[trachy]

Most of the time I use my last name (rarely is it unavailable), but when I want to stay under the radar I use a handle based on a character in a Kids in the Hall skit.

- Drew

[trachy]

Another way to beat spambots is to use formmail. The mailto tag isn't used, so they don't find it.

Now that Steve has clued us in on the '@' trick I'll be doing that too. Anyone familiar with CGI? Will this trick screw up the script?