# Should I change my user name? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 18, 2004, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-change-my-user-name/225066 "2004-01-18T05:50:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**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:** [January 18, 2004, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-change-my-user-name/225066/1 "2004-01-18T05:50:59Z")
I’m bored with **Tapioca Dextrin**. Should I get a new life? Failing that, how about a new name? I was thinking about **Llama Pyjama** , but I’m more than open to _any_ sort of suggestion. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2004, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-change-my-user-name/225066/2 "2004-01-18T05:52:34Z")
Hey, I _like_ your username. I say you keep it and try this life thingy you’re talking about there. ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2004, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-change-my-user-name/225066/3 "2004-01-18T05:57:08Z")
I like your name too. I’ve wanted to change mine for a while but I know I’d hate whatever I pick after a time. ---
**Author:** ![Ringo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/779978/32.png) [@Ringo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ringo)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2004, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-change-my-user-name/225066/4 "2004-01-18T06:22:03Z")
I know you’ve been through this before, but I’ll tell you that I was surprised when I made a name change to come to grips with how much I’d identified with the old name. Anyway, I like your current name - makes me think of a speedy dessert. ---
**Author:** ![raz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@raz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raz)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2004, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-change-my-user-name/225066/5 "2004-01-18T06:39:53Z")
I think you should keep it. Your username is one of the ones that I instantly recognise and want to read posts from! ---
**Author:** ![Fern\_Forest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/71c47a/32.png) [@Fern\_Forest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fern_Forest)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2004, 8:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-change-my-user-name/225066/6 "2004-01-18T08:21:43Z")
Unfortunately the name I want to recommend to people isn’t a very good one but it still makes me chuckle. **B as in Bear**. Although really you could use any letter. It works really well when speaking about it. A: What’s your username? B: You got a pencil? A: Yes. B: B as in Bear. A: … and? B: That’s it. A: B? B: No, B as in bear. A: I got that. What comes next? B: That’s it. and so forth ---
**Author:** ![rolandgunslinger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/cdc98d/32.png) [@rolandgunslinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rolandgunslinger)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2004, 8:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-change-my-user-name/225066/7 "2004-01-18T08:31:44Z")
Nah…keep it. It’s a good name. I once started a post asking if I should change my user name also (since there was already A DOPER named GUNSLINGER) but several Dopers told me the same thing they’re going to tell you…KEEP IT! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Horseflesh](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horseflesh/32/7502_2.png) [@Horseflesh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horseflesh)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2004, 11:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-change-my-user-name/225066/8 "2004-01-18T11:01:22Z")
The only thing that I think of when I see **Llama Pyjama** is that thread from a year or two ago about “pyjama girl”, a fairly popular one where a young man recounts a flourishing romance with a new girl in Scandinavia (and there was some debate as to whether it was all fiction). Unfortunately the search page is not finding it right now. Funny, I was just considering a new username as well. A few days ago these two popped into my head: **Heller Highwater** and **Beyond All Reason** (from Disney’s _Emperor’s New Groove_ when they describe the Yzma character as “Scary beyond all reason.”) But I see that there’s a new member out there with **PastAllReason** as a name so scratch the second idea. I’ll probably stick with what I’ve got. ---
**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:** [January 18, 2004, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-change-my-user-name/225066/9 "2004-01-18T17:17:00Z")
OK, I guess I’ll keep plodding along with my boring life\*. _Reports that I’m flying 5,000 miles just to attend the next LonDope_\* are only slightly exaggerated. \*\*If I can organise a Dopefest in India, I could break this astounding record. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Another\_Primate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@Another\_Primate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Another_Primate)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2004, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-change-my-user-name/225066/10 "2004-01-18T17:20:43Z")
> [@Fern Forest](#): > > Unfortunately the name I want to recommend to people isn’t a very good one but it still makes me chuckle. **B as in Bear**. Although really you could use any letter. It works really well when speaking about it. > … I love it! Trouble is, you’d be hard to find using Search, because all but “Bear” are three letters or less. ---
**Author:** ![BarnOwl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e95f7d/32.png) [@BarnOwl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BarnOwl)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2004, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-change-my-user-name/225066/11 "2004-01-18T19:07:55Z")
I’d say go with a new name - something that would impart a little spice, a little mystery. In two of your posts in this thread you descibed your life as “boring.” I think people would sit up and pay notice to someone who signs herself **flagrante delicto**. :eek: It means a couple of things (as I discovered at [http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?va=delicto](http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?va=delicto)): 1. in the very act of committing a misdeed as in redhanded, and 2. in the midst of sexual activity In any event, you’d convey a whole different image with such a name. What the hell. You’re the only one here who knows you. It might be fun! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![extendidwarranty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@extendidwarranty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/extendidwarranty)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2004, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-change-my-user-name/225066/12 "2004-01-18T21:15:38Z")
Tapioca tastes better than it looks. Too lumpy. How about Malt-O-Meal? ---
**Author:** ![french\_frog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c77e96/32.png) [@french\_frog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/french_frog)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2004, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-change-my-user-name/225066/13 "2004-01-20T02:38:11Z")
Mmmmm… Let’s see… > [@](#): > > tapioca n. A beady _ **starch** _ obtained from the root of the cassava, used for puddings and as a thickening agent in cooking. > > dextrin n. Any of various soluble polysaccharides obtained from _ **starch** _ by the application of heat or acids and used mainly as adhesives and thickening agents. How about \*\* Starchy starch\*\*? * * * Put 15 reg. size marshmallows in your mouth and say : \*\* Starchy starch \*\* is trashing Starsky and Hutch’s tracks. ---
**Author:** ![Kat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b19c9b/32.png) [@Kat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kat)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2004, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-change-my-user-name/225066/14 "2004-01-20T03:02:12Z")
I like your name; it’s one of the few Doper names that I can remember when it’s not right in front of me. I vote you keep it. If you do decide to change, I’ll throw out the suggestion of **Madcap Platypus** for a replacement name for you (or for anyone else who needs a name). The story of **Madcap Platypus** : I was signing up for a username at some place I don’t remember, as I no longer go there, and the username I chose (which I also can’t remember) was already in use. So the login page gave a list of suggestions (first few were the username with a number after it, then the next few were the username with an adjective in front of it (the only one I remember was “Selfish\_\_\_\_\_”)) and the last username on the list of suggestions was Madcap Platypus. I didn’t use it, but I remember it, and have been trying to find a good home for it since. ---
**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:** [January 20, 2004, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-change-my-user-name/225066/15 "2004-01-20T04:23:10Z")
> [@Antiochus](#): > > In two of your posts in this thread you descibed your life as “boring.” I bring to your attention the word [irony](http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=irony). 😉 ---
**Author:** ![umop\_ap\_sdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/dbc845/32.png) [@umop\_ap\_sdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/umop_ap_sdn)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2004, 8:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-change-my-user-name/225066/16 "2004-01-20T08:00:34Z")
For the love of og, no! Your namesake is my favorite flavor of pudding. Besides, you are already [credited](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=4376727#post4376727) for being the source of the recent popularity of the Webdings font. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![BarnOwl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e95f7d/32.png) [@BarnOwl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BarnOwl)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2004, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-change-my-user-name/225066/17 "2004-01-20T14:15:23Z")
> [@Tapioca Dextrin](#): > > I bring to your attention the word [irony](http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=irony). 😉 Oh, now I get it. Your life isn’t boring. It’s a thrill a minute! And all along I you were likening your existence to an insipid, three-week old bowl of lumpy tapioca with a user name to match. How supremely stupid of me. ---
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2004, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-change-my-user-name/225066/18 "2004-01-20T14:27:55Z")
I’m gonna keep suggesting this in every “should I change my name?” thread until somebody uses it: **Patty O’furniture** 😃 ---
**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:** [January 22, 2004, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-change-my-user-name/225066/19 "2004-01-22T01:22:53Z")
Username decisions should not be made on the basis of muzzle velocity and throw weight. On the other hand, **Ophelia Hardin** is available. So is **Ivana Ferrari.** I don’t think **Talia Watt** has been used. How 'bout **Amelia Pland?** Naturally, if **Tapioca Dextrin** turns out to be a guy, this post may be misdirected. :o