# Has anyone ever realized they "knew" a poster from another board? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 18, 2014, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-realized-they-knew-a-poster-from-another-board/681601 "2014-02-18T05:35:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2014, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-realized-they-knew-a-poster-from-another-board/681601/1 "2014-02-18T05:35:58Z")
Several times, I thought I have, but the person turned out not to be who I thought they were. I have certainly known people who posted on more than one board I frequented, but I knew what their usernames were on each board, and they were different boards for a similar topic. This isn’t about someone who uses the same username on all their message boards, which as we all know is generally not a good idea. ---
**Author:** ![Silophant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a698b9/32.png) [@Silophant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silophant)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2014, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-realized-they-knew-a-poster-from-another-board/681601/2 "2014-02-18T06:28:35Z")
I know you said this doesn’t count, but I recognized someone on another board by their posting “voice” before it hit me that they used the same name for both locations. Not that I can judge, since I do as well. ---
**Author:** ![CatherineZeta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e95f7d/32.png) [@CatherineZeta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CatherineZeta)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2014, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-realized-they-knew-a-poster-from-another-board/681601/3 "2014-02-18T06:32:02Z")
I also realize you said this wasn’t what you were asking, but I actually did find someone on a completely unrelated board with the same distinctive name as someone on here, so I’ll assume they’re the same person. I don’t think I’d be able to tell just by “voice” if the name wasn’t familiar unless they used very, very similar phrasing consistently or told the same story line (like how some posters made the connection between **umkay** \*\*\*\* and someone posting on a pregnancy board). ---
**Author:** ![chorpler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chorpler/32/2888_2.png) [@chorpler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chorpler)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2014, 6:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-realized-they-knew-a-poster-from-another-board/681601/4 "2014-02-18T06:40:11Z")
I realized last year that a poster who used to post here (now she posts on one of the other boards like **Giraffe** ’s board, IIRC) was my neighbor from across the street while we were growing up. Pretty cool… ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2014, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-realized-they-knew-a-poster-from-another-board/681601/5 "2014-02-18T06:49:51Z")
Yep. A couple time I was able to identify people from this board who post on another board and even confirmed it with them. ---
**Author:** ![Claverhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/13edae/32.png) [@Claverhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Claverhouse)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2014, 6:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-realized-they-knew-a-poster-from-another-board/681601/6 "2014-02-18T06:51:22Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > This isn’t about someone who uses the same username on all their message boards, which as we all know is generally not a good idea. Why on earth not ? ---
**Author:** ![Truman\_Burbank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecc23a/32.png) [@Truman\_Burbank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Truman_Burbank)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2014, 7:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-realized-they-knew-a-poster-from-another-board/681601/7 "2014-02-18T07:44:59Z")
There are _other boards_? ---
**Author:** ![ruadh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d2c977/32.png) [@ruadh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ruadh)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2014, 8:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-realized-they-knew-a-poster-from-another-board/681601/8 "2014-02-18T08:34:01Z")
I once recognised someone here from a mailing list I used to be on. Based on similar, but not identical, user IDs and obvious shared interests. ---
**Author:** ![Meurglys](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/258eb7/32.png) [@Meurglys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meurglys)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2014, 11:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-realized-they-knew-a-poster-from-another-board/681601/9 "2014-02-18T11:35:12Z")
There are at least two people here I knew on another Board but I use a different name here so one doesn’t know me (and doesn’t post very much anyway) and the other has probably long forgotten that I PMed him about something related to the other Board after he had stopped posting there. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2014, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-realized-they-knew-a-poster-from-another-board/681601/10 "2014-02-18T11:44:16Z")
I’m pretty sure a couple of people here are, like me, also posting on the **io9** boards, and their sub-board **The Observation Deck**. Sometimes I think I recognise a username there as also being from here, though I’m never sure if it’s just because I’ve been posting there for a few years now and getting confused. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2014, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-realized-they-knew-a-poster-from-another-board/681601/11 "2014-02-18T11:47:01Z")
I’m pretty sure that I’ve recognized people on the Order of the Stick forum who also post here from their names and things they’ve said. And I knew the forum names on the defunct City of Heroes forums of several people who post here. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2014, 11:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-realized-they-knew-a-poster-from-another-board/681601/12 "2014-02-18T11:53:44Z")
Also, on one sci-fi board I’ve seen a poster talk about the same incidents in their life simultaneously here and there under the same username, so they are obviously the same person. Also on the same board I’m pretty sure a certain creepy banned pro-pedophilia poster showed up using the same name they used here and got banned there as well. ---
**Author:** ![FXMastermind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fxmastermind/32/7289_2.png) [@FXMastermind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FXMastermind)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2014, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-realized-they-knew-a-poster-from-another-board/681601/13 "2014-02-18T12:09:55Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > Several times, I thought I have, but the person turned out not to be who I thought they were. I have certainly known people who posted on more than one board I frequented, Oh I got stories, stories that I shouldn’t tell. ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2014, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-realized-they-knew-a-poster-from-another-board/681601/14 "2014-02-18T12:19:45Z")
**Moderator Action** Since this is basically informally polling for other experiences, let’s move this to IMHO. Moving thread from General Questions to In My Humble Opinion. ---
**Author:** ![FXMastermind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fxmastermind/32/7289_2.png) [@FXMastermind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FXMastermind)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2014, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-realized-they-knew-a-poster-from-another-board/681601/15 "2014-02-18T12:23:44Z")
OK now it’s on. ---
**Author:** ![watchwolf49](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9c0ed/32.png) [@watchwolf49](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/watchwolf49)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2014, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-realized-they-knew-a-poster-from-another-board/681601/16 "2014-02-18T13:21:40Z")
I’m not that freak-toid on Blizzard … honest … for what possible reason would I have to lie about that … [wolfish grin] ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2014, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-realized-they-knew-a-poster-from-another-board/681601/17 "2014-02-18T13:37:42Z")
Yep. I’ve recognized (and confirmed) several people here who frequent other boards (not counting Giraffe.) ---
**Author:** ![FXMastermind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fxmastermind/32/7289_2.png) [@FXMastermind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FXMastermind)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2014, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-realized-they-knew-a-poster-from-another-board/681601/18 "2014-02-18T14:21:56Z")
I know a lot more than I could ever tell. yeah, I’m talking about you. ---
**Author:** ![BubbaDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bubbadog/32/333_2.png) [@BubbaDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BubbaDog)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2014, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-realized-they-knew-a-poster-from-another-board/681601/19 "2014-02-18T15:10:12Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > … uses the same username on all their message boards, which as we all know is generally not a good idea. I’m trying to think of why that’s a bad idea, at least for general discussion boards. I’m Bubbadog on this board and a few others. I can see that one might want to use a unique alias on personal health boards. On the I’ve-got-an-extremely-stinky-butt board I’m known as **SD Mod**. ---
**Author:** ![FXMastermind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fxmastermind/32/7289_2.png) [@FXMastermind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FXMastermind)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2014, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-realized-they-knew-a-poster-from-another-board/681601/20 "2014-02-18T15:12:06Z")
I use the same five names, and always have. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-realized-they-knew-a-poster-from-another-board/681601.md?page=2)