# Dopers who are "out" **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 20, 2010, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-who-are-out/529721 "2010-02-20T01:18:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Neverender](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/848f3c/32.png) [@Neverender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neverender)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2010, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-who-are-out/529721/21 "2010-02-20T16:16:43Z")
Here it goes, my real name is Tim Passey. Hmmm, I don’t really feel any different - I expected to feel, erm, liberated, ya know? Just in case it’s not out there already, I honestly can’t remember if I’ve posted my real name before or not. Why’d you choose to out yourself? **Just felt like it.** Has there been a big difference since you were out? **I doubt it.** Do you ever wish you weren’t? **Nope, I’m not regretting it yet** 😛 Have you ever worried about people stalking you or stealing your identity? **How? It’s my name - not by bank account details, PIN and passwords! And a stalker would swiftly get reported to the police or given a good thrashing, depending on circumstances.** And, finally, are you annoyed by someone asking this stuff?\*\* No, I just don’t understand how anyone would make a big deal out of it. Unless you’re the kind of person that’s afraid to speak your mind in real life and must come here to post about someone behind their back, I can’t really see how it could come back and bite you on the bum.\*\* TLDR: If I think someones a c\*\*t in real life, I’ll probably have already told them, I won’t have posted it here for someone to google my name and find anything ‘incriminating’ so it ain’t a big deal to me. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2010, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-who-are-out/529721/22 "2010-02-20T16:55:29Z")
You could probably easily figure it out from the links and such in my profile. I don’t much care. ---
**Author:** ![yojimbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yojimbo/32/232_2.png) [@yojimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yojimbo)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2010, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-who-are-out/529721/23 "2010-02-20T17:00:18Z")
I meet people IRL every day that I don’t know from Adam but I give my name to. I’ve put my name on the board several times, in fact I even posted my mobile number once as it was handy to let someone know it . If you get an email from me it’s got my name on it. I don’t worry about these things much. If I was going to be embarrassed about anything I wouldn’t post it. Peter ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2010, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-who-are-out/529721/24 "2010-02-20T17:03:19Z")
I’d be very easy to figure out - hell, I’ve mentioned my boyfriend’s name before, where we live, and the fact that he’s running for mayor. I’m a lot more worried about some creepy stalker following me home from work. ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2010, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-who-are-out/529721/25 "2010-02-20T17:16:56Z")
My last name is so uncommon that a Google search turns up myself and only two other peole with it. So I wouldn’t want people to know. I don’t have anything to hide and I don’t care, but once you put something on the Internet it can be there indefinately. In fact the few times my last name turns up in Google it’s from the old Gopher days and bulletin board systems that date back to 1994 ---
**Author:** ![GESancMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gesancman/32/2923_2.png) [@GESancMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GESancMan)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2010, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-who-are-out/529721/26 "2010-02-20T19:18:09Z")
I haven’t said my name outright, but a couple of times I’ve dropped a rather blatant hint as to what my last name is - most recently, in a thread I started about becoming a high school teacher. My last name is Mackey, so put the Mr. in front, and I can expect good times ahead… probably more from colleagues than students. 🙂 **Why’d you choose to out yourself?** For the comedic effect, see above. **Has there been a big difference since you were out?** Not at all. I expect no one recognizes my user name anyway, I haven’t exactly posted a lot. **Do you ever wish you weren’t?** No. **Have you ever worried about people stalking you or stealing your identity?** Nope. Back in the '90s I made thousands of posts on Usenet using my real name, and made quite an ass out of myself a good deal of the time. Nothing ever came of that, so I’m certainly not worried about it here. \*\*And, finally, are you annoyed by someone asking this stuff? \*\* No. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2010, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-who-are-out/529721/27 "2010-02-20T20:48:05Z")
> [@GESancMan](#): > > Nope. Back in the '90s I made thousands of posts on Usenet using my real name As did I. I like to think that my posts were reasonable and didn’t go OTT. A number of U.K. Dopers know my real name, and it’s quite easy to find my real name from stuff I’ve posted here. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2010, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-who-are-out/529721/28 "2010-02-20T21:35:10Z")
Nope. I’m so famous that you would all be sending me requests for money should I reveal my secret identity. Seriously: my name is instantly recognizable. Well, to my cat, anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Yorikke](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yorikke/32/4335_2.png) [@Yorikke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorikke)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2010, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-who-are-out/529721/29 "2010-02-20T22:07:15Z")
I outed myself once, in the ancient past. I share a name with a [fairly famous mobster](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Gallo) who is distantly related. I’ve also talked about writing for [Zine World](http://www.undergroundpress.org/) back in the stone ages, when Doug started it. I’m very proud of my ZineWiki entry: "Joe Gallo published the zines Gulp Life and Electric Third Rail. He was better known, however, for his harsh, dismissive reviews in Zine World: A Reader’s Guide to the Underground Press. He is no longer active in zines. His last listed address was in San Francisco. He shares his name with a famous Mafioso. " Why be out? Why not? Joe ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2010, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-who-are-out/529721/30 "2010-02-20T22:19:04Z")
Well, my first name really is Kyla, and I’ve mentioned a lot of details over the time I’ve been here (where I live, the program I’m studying in, etc.) that would make it easy enough for someone who wanted to stalk me to do so. So far, so good. I’m also RL and Facebook friends with plenty of Dopers, enough that I’ve been invited to four Doper weddings (sadly, was only able to attend two), so obviously it’s not that big of a secret who I am. I feel okay about it. ---
**Author:** ![ryan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a8b319/32.png) [@ryan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ryan)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2010, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-who-are-out/529721/31 "2010-02-21T02:06:14Z")
My user name is my last name. No big deal as it’s extremely common. I’m not “out”, but I worked with one fellow doper and went on a date with another, so I don’t hide my I.D. I stick to the old “don’t post anything you wouldn’t say out loud in public” method, so no worries about stuff in that area. As far as stalkers and identity theft? Please, I’m not that interesting and anyone stupid enough to steal my I.D. is welcome to it. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2010, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-who-are-out/529721/32 "2010-02-21T04:29:30Z")
I won this contest a couple of years back and my name came out in the press, and since I’d posted about it, it was impractical to hide. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2010, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-who-are-out/529721/33 "2010-02-21T04:40:08Z")
Why’d you choose to out yourself? _I’d started a GD thread to discuss a historical question that interested me, and provided a link to a magazine article I’d written about it. Didn’t give it much forethought before providing the link, frankly._ Has there been a big difference since you were out? _Nope_. Do you ever wish you weren’t? _Nein._ Have you ever worried about people stalking you or stealing your identity? _Nyet._ And, finally, are you annoyed by someone asking this stuff? 😛 _Not at all!_ ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2010, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-who-are-out/529721/34 "2010-02-21T05:04:17Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > I had my hand up, ready to be counted . . . until I read the OP. Sorry, panache. I wouldn’t feel right asking a question like that. I mean, I guess I’m “out”, but I’m straight, so that doesn’t mean much. I tend to leave questions like that to people who know what it’s like to not be “out”. As for everyone else: thanks for the responses. I think my real reason for my staying mum is it helps me be less shy. I know that, in the catastrophic event that I screw up horribly, no consequences will come if I merely leave. Probably not the healthiest belief, but it gets me out here talking. ---
**Author:** ![Invisible\_Chimp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/f05b48/32.png) [@Invisible\_Chimp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Invisible_Chimp)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2010, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-who-are-out/529721/35 "2010-02-21T05:54:14Z")
In some threads I’ve mentioned my real name, but in others I have inexplicably danced around it. My real name is Jacob Brown. Google “Jacob Brown” and I can almost guarantee that any of the first 1,000,000 hits aren’t me. I’ve never had to spell my name to anyone, but as the popularity of my first name skyrockets, I keep getting confused with other Jacob Browns. I’ve mentioned my hometown several times too, but that still doesn’t narrow it down much. There are so many of us, I can avoid stalkers and I have plausible deniability. I can say that was another Jacob Brown. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2010, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-who-are-out/529721/36 "2010-02-21T06:49:31Z")
Well, I’ve mentioned my first name - Josh - any number of times, and I recently linked to an article about my brother, so my surname is pretty much out there too. Why I did it… well, I recently opened a Facebook page, ending 15 years of internet anonymity. After that it was basically, what the hell. Anyone who \*really \*wanted to find out my name could do it anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Wolverine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ba9def/32.png) [@Wolverine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wolverine)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2010, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-who-are-out/529721/37 "2010-02-21T16:26:01Z")
I don’t remember if I’ve actually stated my name, but I have a link to my Facebook page with my real name in this thread “[Castle Age (Facebook)](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=549988)”. Why’d you choose to out yourself? To get more army members for Castle Age Has there been a big difference since you were out? none here, but now I have a few more Doper friends on Facebook Do you ever wish you weren’t? No Have you ever worried about people stalking you or stealing your identity? No. And, finally, are you annoyed by someone asking this stuff? Not at all. You got a lurker to post, so that’s something. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2010, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-who-are-out/529721/38 "2010-02-21T16:32:53Z")
> [@](#): > > Why’d you choose to out yourself? It’s more like I never chose to be anonymous. > [@](#): > > Has there been a big difference since you were out? I was never NOT out on the board. Way back in the mists of AOLboard time I linked to articles I’d written that displayed my full name. > [@](#): > > Do you ever wish you weren’t? On the Dope?? Totally never been an issue. > [@](#): > > Have you ever worried about people stalking you or stealing your identity? I’m out on the internets as a diagnosed paranoid schizophrenic and member of the mental patients’ liberation movement. Oddly enough, I don’t worry much about anyone stealing my identity. Stalking, so far, has not been an issue. > [@](#): > > And, finally, are you annoyed by someone asking this stuff? Are you considering being “onymous” yourself? If so, for what purpose? Or just curious? ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2010, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-who-are-out/529721/39 "2010-02-21T16:50:37Z")
I’m pretty sure I’ve outed myself in conjunction with my Taekwondo school. It wouldn’t be hard to find me in a search, but I seem to recall posting a link to SWMBO’s and my pictures on the DOPE before. > **[WestHoustonAta.com is for sale | HugeDomains](https://www.hugedomains.com/domain_profile.cfm?d=westhoustonata.com)** > > Get set up with a new domain name right away. Affordable payment plans to fit any budget. Friendly customer support. And if my memory didn’t serve me correctly…that link’ll do. ---
**Author:** ![Alan\_Smithee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/2acd7d/32.png) [@Alan\_Smithee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alan_Smithee)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2010, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-who-are-out/529721/40 "2010-02-21T22:55:57Z")
I’ve never mentioned my name, and have occasionally tiptoed around it, but that’s just because I like to imagine I’m all mysterious. I’ve had links in my profile to my email address and IM names that contain my real name and probably still do (though I can’t remember if those are accessible to the rest of you or not). Actually, though, now that I type that, I realize I have had reason to stay “in,” since my sister is in a group I’ve thought about asking questions about, and wouldn’t have wanted traced to me. I think I even asked a mod once about asking a question anonymously. But I’ve never bothered to ask, and I get along with my sister well enough now, that I wouldn’t really care if she _did_ catch me asking questions about her on-line. (She belongs to a commune-type group that I used to think had some cult-like tendencies, but that I now think is mostly harmless and supportive.) > [@twickster](#): > > I keep the sound off, so, based on visuals only – dang, you are one animated SOB. > > As for me – I thought long and hard about using my real name on teemings, but decided the benefits of having that as work product to show to potential clients/employers far outweighed any downside of attracting freaky stalker types (of which there has been zero sign so far). Plus, I’ve been around long enough, and been in enough exchanges, etc., that there were already dozens of people who know me by (real) name. I’m hurt. I mean, I’ve never _actually_ been a freaky stalker, but surely I’m the _type_! 😉 Which reminds me, I’ve met more than a few Dopers IRL and introduced myself by my real name, which they’ve probably all long forgotten. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-who-are-out/529721.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-who-are-out/529721.md?page=3)