# Have you ever changed your doper name? Would you? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 17, 2004, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-changed-your-doper-name-would-you/275312 "2004-11-17T18:37:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![lel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8797f3/32.png) [@lel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lel)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2004, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-changed-your-doper-name-would-you/275312/41 "2004-11-18T04:45:36Z")
> [@smartini](#): > > \*Have you ever changed your doper name? What was it before, if you care to share? \* Yes, my former name was **panchitaville**. > [@](#): > > _Why did you change your doper name?_ I was a chat freak and went by lel in chats, so this made it consistent. > [@](#): > > _Are you glad you changed it? Or do you wish you had left it as it was?_ It doesn’t really matter to me one way or the other – my online persona isn’t me anyway. > [@](#): > > _If you haven’t changed your name, have you considered it? Why?_ N/A > [@](#): > > _Is this really a hard decision to make? Or do I need to get a life?_ I wouldn’t worry about it. It’s nowhere near the level of “do I want to change jobs?” or “do I want to buy this house?” You may want to do a name with more than three letters, however, as vanity searches are right out with a three letter name. ---
**Author:** ![Nightwatch\_Trailer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/9dc877/32.png) [@Nightwatch\_Trailer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nightwatch_Trailer)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2004, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-changed-your-doper-name-would-you/275312/42 "2004-11-18T04:46:01Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > But I’m thinking about it… like **Octopus** , some people wonder if I named myself after the character in Ma Vie En Rose, a movie that i’ve never seen (the answer’s “no”, btw.) No one here has asked me that but there’s always a first time (I’m known as it in multiple places.) > > But the main reason I’m thinking about changing it is cause I found a wonderful replacement, one that I don’t even want to mention here lest it be taken (although it’s an extremely obscure reference.) Offhand, I think **Ludovic** is a terrific name. How about **Grahzny Rookers**? ---
**Author:** ![smartini](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/22d042/32.png) [@smartini](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smartini)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2004, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-changed-your-doper-name-would-you/275312/43 "2004-11-18T04:48:10Z")
> [@AwSnappity](#): > > My name was **FireUnderpantsBoobs**. Maybe you’d heard of it? It seems no one on this board has! > > Actually, that’s why I changed it. _Everyone_ recognized it, and it always got mentioned in “What’s your favorite username?” threads. But I didn’t think anyone knew me based on my personality. I wanted to make a name for myself through what I said, not what I called myself. > > I’m not too happy with **AwSnappity** now. It annoys me, actually. I would like to change it again, but I completely understand the confusion that stems from name changes. So **AwSnappity** I remain. > > Think very carefully before you change it so that you don’t end up with a name you grow to despise. Aww **AwSnappity** has always been one of my favorites, in fact it was of the 2 I chose when we had to pick 2 favorites for a thread poll…IIRC I picked **AwSnappity** and **Nightwatch Trailer** …_and no, I am not baiting you NT:)_ . ---
**Author:** ![Bambi\_Hassenpfeffer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Bambi\_Hassenpfeffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bambi_Hassenpfeffer)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2004, 7:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-changed-your-doper-name-would-you/275312/44 "2004-11-18T07:04:28Z")
My first username here was my real name, which is still available in my e-mail address. I like the current one, because I think Bambi is just a funny (and originally male, dammit) name and the juxtaposition of the two names has a nice meter. Although, sometimes I think I’m known more by my name than by my content, which is just as well, given the usual quality of my content. ---
**Author:** ![davenportavenger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5f8ce5/32.png) [@davenportavenger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davenportavenger)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2004, 7:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-changed-your-doper-name-would-you/275312/45 "2004-11-18T07:11:21Z")
I’m considering changing mine. I have the feeling that the misspelling, though intentional, is annoying to some people, and I’m worried people might not get that it’s done on purpose, and if someone thinks I’m stupid enough to misspell a simple word like “error” they might not take the rest of my post seriously. I’d also like to change it before I rack up too many posts. What do y’all think? Is my username really annoying? ---
**Author:** ![AwSnappity](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a3d4f5/32.png) [@AwSnappity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AwSnappity)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2004, 7:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-changed-your-doper-name-would-you/275312/46 "2004-11-18T07:15:14Z")
Heh, I never noticed the missing R in your name, **continuity eror**. I guess it makes sense in conjunction with your sig, though. I say keep it. **smartini** : Thanks! I simply adore your name, I really do. I think it’s funny/cute. ---
**Author:** ![DougC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7feea3/32.png) [@DougC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DougC)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2004, 10:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-changed-your-doper-name-would-you/275312/47 "2004-11-18T10:34:59Z")
- - - I changed my name from “MC” because Tuba told me I had to. - “MC” were the first two letters of the AOL screenname I used when the SD board was on AOL. Some time after the SD moved to the Internet, they switched to updated software that did not support usernames of less than three characters, and that was when I was told it would have to change to something at least three characters long and that wasn’t already taken. I was somewhat miffed but “DougC” somewhat resembles my real name anyway [-back then there were still lots of short names that were available]. - Since that time, the board software also has not supported _searching_ on words of less than three characters (-even of _usernames_-) so there is no way for regular users to directly look up my ancient posts. ~ ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2004, 10:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-changed-your-doper-name-would-you/275312/48 "2004-11-18T10:47:32Z")
> [@UrbanChic](#): > > I changed it because I didn’t want to use my first name anymore. Same here. I also changed it after maybe making a hundred posts, so I was a tiny insignificant speck back then. That bit hasn’t changed. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2004, 11:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-changed-your-doper-name-would-you/275312/49 "2004-11-18T11:30:22Z")
\*Have you ever changed your doper name? What was it before, if you care to share? \* Yes – I was once **jr8**. _Why did you change your doper name?_ In part because the three-character non-word seemed not to register on people’s consciousnesses, and in part because it just didn’t feel right anymore. Oddly, once I changed it to the current evolved form (“Gyrate” being derived from sounding out “jr8”) I tended to make much more of an impression here. I think having an actual word makes a difference. _Are you glad you changed it?_ Yup. It’s changed the way I write, I think. _Is this really a hard decision to make? Or do I need to get a life?_ Hard? No. But not something to do frivolously either. Think about the new name for a few days before you ask for the change. Is this a name that feels right? Then go for it. Mind you, **smartini** is a rather clever name. Maybe you should just consider capitalizing it. ---
**Author:** ![Go\_You\_Big\_Red\_Fire\_Engine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/eada6e/32.png) [@Go\_You\_Big\_Red\_Fire\_Engine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Go_You_Big_Red_Fire_Engine)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2004, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-changed-your-doper-name-would-you/275312/50 "2004-11-18T11:59:30Z")
I changed from **Who Stole My Name?** Because when I first tried to register and put in my current name it said it was already taken? So I just put it as Who Stole My Name? It turns out, that perhaps no-one had it at all, and the mods were nice enough to change it to what it is. I have this because it’s a good aussie saying, and I use it on other message boards. ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2004, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-changed-your-doper-name-would-you/275312/51 "2004-11-18T12:44:18Z")
I thought about changing my username, because my username is really just my first name and last initial; not very clever or creative. But, by now, everyone around here knows me as norinew. Furthermore, not too long into this gig, I figured out that almost everyone reads it as “nori-new” and then wonders what I mean by that? Seems cryptic. That makes me smile. So I’ve decided not to change. However, when I recently registered on **Skip Magic’s** new board, I played on that, and registered as “nori the new”. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2004, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-changed-your-doper-name-would-you/275312/52 "2004-11-18T14:07:22Z")
> [@](#): > > Have you ever changed your doper name? What was it before, if you care to share? Yes; I originally used my real name (as I had on the AOL board before). I was one of the first posters here to change my username. > [@](#): > > Why did you change your doper name? I decided to maintain a little more anonymity. Obviously many posters have met me in real life and know my real name. And I have mentioned it. But it’s not out there every day. > [@](#): > > Are you glad you changed it? Or do you wish you had left it as it was? Yes. But I should have put more thought into a new name. I essentially just picked Little Nemo on a whim (I had been reading some Winsor McCay that day). ---
**Author:** ![smartini](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/22d042/32.png) [@smartini](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smartini)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2004, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-changed-your-doper-name-would-you/275312/53 "2004-11-18T15:40:49Z")
> [@continuity eror](#): > > I’m considering changing mine. I have the feeling that the misspelling, though intentional, is annoying to some people, and I’m worried people might not get that it’s done on purpose, and if someone thinks I’m stupid enough to misspell a simple word like “error” they might not take the rest of my post seriously. I’d also like to change it before I rack up too many posts. > > What do y’all think? Is my username really annoying? What? There is a misspelling? Noooo…don’t change it! I loved the intentional eror from the beginning and figured you did it on purpose. Keep it around! ---
**Author:** ![DougC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7feea3/32.png) [@DougC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DougC)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2004, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-changed-your-doper-name-would-you/275312/54 "2004-11-18T15:43:51Z")
> [@](#): > > Because when I first tried to register and put in my current name it said it was already taken? - - - See, now–I mentioned this to the admins here–that they should institute a rule that says if you do not make _at least_ one post in -some- forum every 12 months, your username info should be canceled out, so that someone else can take the username. The problem in principal that we have now is that someone can register a username, post once, and never return–and that username is forever locked up, and nobody else can use it. So now there are pretty much no more short, sensible usernames to be had. And most of the “ghost posters” will never return anyway, especially now that the board has moved to subscriptions. So sooner or later we’ll start seeing usernames like “ **IcouldntfindausernamehtatwasnttakensoIusedthis\_47dn83d** ”, just because all the shorter ones that aren’t random strings of letters and numbers will be gone. …I originally said this just because I wanted to use my own first name “Doug”, but it was already taken, by someone who had registered a couple years before, posted a few times in a couple weeks, and then **never posted again**. I just tried doing a username search on it now, and it doesn’t even come up with any results–but still, nobody else can use the name. It doesn’t make a lot of sense. _People who don’t post don’t need to take up a username, and one post a year is not a lot to ask just to show that they are still alive_. I don’t know from a technical standpoint what would be necessary to do this “housecleaning”, but it wouldn’t need to be done every day–done even just once every three months would blow away a lot of unused accounts, and free up a lot of names. … - Secondly–I notice that someone else said they changed their username _from_ their real name, where I changed my username _to_ my real name. If you are not using your real username, why not? ~ ---
**Author:** ![Avarie537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/48db29/32.png) [@Avarie537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Avarie537)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2004, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-changed-your-doper-name-would-you/275312/55 "2004-11-18T16:38:40Z")
I would love to change my name. “Avarie” is a name I’ve used since I was 16, and it’s not like it’s bad, I just feel like I’ve kind of grown out of it. The 537 is because I had to add some numbers, and 537 “spells” my initials on a phone pad (or it used to before I got married). Avarie537 is also what I use for an email address, and I would love to change it too. I just don’t know what to use instead! ---
**Author:** ![Waverly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/57b2e6/32.png) [@Waverly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waverly)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2004, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-changed-your-doper-name-would-you/275312/56 "2004-11-18T16:52:58Z")
I hate name changes unless absolutely necessary. There are no faces to associate personalities with, so I depend upon the names to identify people I normally find entertaining or informative; or conversely, people who should be avoided or ignored. I’m not around often enough to catch all the announcements or references to a name change. I’m still a little bit irked that one disturbed poster (since banned) was allowed to come back under a new name. I’d quitely vowed to avoid this person, yet after the fact, realized I’d engaged in conversation with their ‘new’ persona. Pissed me off. ---
**Author:** ![Missy2U](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3bc359/32.png) [@Missy2U](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Missy2U)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2004, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-changed-your-doper-name-would-you/275312/57 "2004-11-18T16:56:16Z")
Nope, I’ve never changed user names - and I probably wouldn’t. I’m Missy2U too many other places - I couldn’t keep a bunch of different names straight. I prefer just to be plain old M2U. Besides, it’s not like I’m a creative genius and could come up with something “cool” anyway… ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2004, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-changed-your-doper-name-would-you/275312/58 "2004-11-18T17:35:19Z")
**Have you ever changed your doper name? What was it before, if you care to share?** I was **rastahomie** from the time I registered until a couple of years or so ago. I changed to **HeyHomie** for a rather convoluted reason. See below. **Why did you change your doper name?** Short story: I had outgrown it. Long story: When I was in college, the guys on my floor nicknamed me “Homie” because it’s a variation on my IRL last name. Then one day I went to New Orleans and bought a brightly-colored, woolen cap at the French Market. One of those caps like what Bob Marley wore back in The Day. Anyway, my floormates took to calling me “Rastahomie.” (Like Rastafari, get it?) About two years later, Al Gore invented the Internet, and I needed a username, so I put two and two together. Over time, a more than a couple of people on the SDMB made assumptions about me based on my username. Not bad assumptions, just incorrect ones. That I was black (because most Rastas are, though I’m quite white); that I was Rastafarian (nope; Evangelical Protestant); or that I was into counter-culture (nope; conservative Republican). So I decided a change was in order. I chose **HeyHomie** because it still retains the “Homie,” and because it honors my brother. Every time my brother sees me he imitates Barney from _The Simpsons_ and says “Hey Homie!” **Are you glad you changed it? Or do you wish you had left it as it was?** I think some of the people on the SDMB who had gotten to “know” me were disappointed, because **Rastahomie** had a certain ring to it. But I stand by my decision and I have no regrets. Is this really a hard decision to make? Or do I need to get a life? Since you only get one chance to change your SDMB username, it’s obviously a very tough call to make. So no, I don’t think you need to get a life. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2004, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-changed-your-doper-name-would-you/275312/59 "2004-11-18T18:12:33Z")
I’ve been **AskNott** from day one, back in the AOL days. A droll pun, and I still like it. When president Clinton ordered his “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy in the military, I considered changing because I thought some folks might think I was a gay soldier. In real life (if you can call that real) I use a pseudonym of **Oliver Faltz.** If I ever change, I might use that. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2004, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-changed-your-doper-name-would-you/275312/60 "2004-11-18T18:38:09Z")
> [@lieu](#): > > Wow! I’d wondered what happened to you. > > As **tremorviolet** points out: “online names give a brief initial impression but then the content of your posts take over.” This is so true. A name might raise your initial visibility but intelligence, compassion and life experiences are easily communicated here. **Dumb As A Small Pebble** , given consistent insightful commentary will soon be known for that and that alone. A good example of this is our own **Really Not All That Bright**. I generally find his posts interesting and he expresses himself well. And there’s certainly nothing there to suggest that his handle is in any way accurate. I traded **javaman** for my current handle after being banned, along with several others, by \*_Manhattan_. After apologizing I was allowed to come back under the new name. Not only did I not want to continue using the name I’d been banned under, but I’d become dissatisfied with **javaman** anyhow. I felt it was too archaic, reminiscent of long-ago days when computer logins didn’t recognize upper and lower case and couldn’t include spaces. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-changed-your-doper-name-would-you/275312.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-changed-your-doper-name-would-you/275312.md?page=4)