Is it acceptable to venture guesses as to the real-life identities of posters on this board?
I suddenly realized a vague similarity between someone on this board & a published writer. Perhaps not enough to indicate they are one & the same, but enough to indicate they might be related. Should I just keep my trap shut?
If you’re curious, you could PM them…they may not offer a factual answer, but it’s more polite than going public with information they may not want to be disclosed, assuming you’re even right in the first place (and frankly, I don’t think linking dopers to real life identities is something we need on this board…opens a whole 'nother can of worms).
It’s considered very Bad Form if not against the rules to “out” a poster.
Now, that may not apply to celebrities.
We have quite a few published writers here. I am one, but you have never read my stuff, I am sure.
I don’t know- I guess if it was a big enough writer to be an actual celebrity, then maybe. This is ethically speaking, not per the rules.
Mods?
Rules or not, I think it’s bad form.
I know of a couple of Dopers that have some noteriety (maybe not actual fame) that link their homepage in their profile. Did you check that first?
It wouldn’t take much sleuthing to find out mine, but I don’t care (neither does anyone else 
).
I am convinced we are entitled to our anonymity here. This is a message board, for goodness sake!
If you want to inspire by who you are, there’s plenty of ways to do it on the Internet.
(Several Dopers know who I am in real life, but have not disclosed it.)
You can guess all you want, I’m assuming that the real question here is whether it’s OK to guess in a post.
Well, some folks, such as a published writer, may not wish their real identity to be known. Some folks (myself included) like to keep a rigid separation between real life and on-line identities for one reason or another. So, before saying anything in public at the very least I’d pm or e-mail the person in question as a courtesy and if they ask you to, refrain from blurting out the information.
Other people could care less - a number of people on the Straight Dope post under their actual name and not under aliases. Most recently, author Jim Butcher dropped into a thread about his Dresden Files series as himself. So while there’s no blanket prohibition on using real names, it would seem that doing so is only permitted when the poster agrees to it. Not sure if that’s official, but that’s the way it has been done around here.
If the poster hasn’t given personal info in posts and hasn’t given a website etc. in their profile, I would say you have no business in “outing” them. A PM or email is the way to go if you really are interested.
Don’t know about the actual rules but from a netiquette* POV it’s very bad form indeed.
I’m certainly on of the ‘publisher writer’ class and have never kept that a secret. Likely up to a hundred dopers know me IRL, too, from get togethers I’ve either attended or hosted.
But I’ve never been one of those who think that a distinction should be made betwixt who I am in different venues. What you see is what you get, after all.
So it wouldn’t bother me if you guessed. But I think I’m the odd duck there. Many people seem to value their anonymity online for some reason.
I personally would have no problem revealing my RL identity, but my handlers in the Witness Protection Program wouldn’t be pleased.
Cheers,
bcg
You may email them and guess privately, but it is NOT OK to guess out loud (that is, in a post) without their permission. We try to respect posters’ rights to privacy. People who want their Real Life Names and Identities known can sign on that way. People who don’t, don’t. We shoujld all respect that.
An Arky, you may not care about your own identity, and that’s fine. I know that, in the early days of these Message Boards, I had a stalker on the boards (it’s a long story) who lived in Chicago, and implied violence against me. I was very glad to be hiding behind a username, and (I hope) not easily tracked. I would NOT have liked to have my name and address and whereabouts openly known to some of the lunatics we’ve had on these boards, and I suspect there are others who feel the same.
So, keep any guessing private, please.
Oh, I totally agree. I was only speaking for myself.
Oh aye? I like reading new stuff…would you be willing to PM me the titles or your Real Live Published Author Name so I can look for your stuff? Pleeeeeeeeeeaaaaasssseee???
::big brown pleading doggy eyes::
Man, I’ve warned you before, just don’t talk about it to anyone!
And even then it is apparently frowned upon. Years ago I asked if anyone here knew who I was IRL. Some posters took that as a challenge to guess who I am - and therefore the mods shut it down. (I really only wondered if anyone recognized me.)
I am not Tom Robbins’ cousin.
It’s an obscure and outdated D&D supplement, and a few gov’t manuals.
** Colibri** has mentioned he has written some books about birds.:eek:
**
CalMeacham** has also mentioned he is a real author, but he doesn’t want his name made public.
I might be John Le Carre. But I ain’t sayin’!
But are you Spartacus?