# Should we allow usernames that are misleading (as defined in this post)? **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [June 17, 2020, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-we-allow-usernames-that-are-misleading-as-defined-in-this-post/855852 "2020-06-17T16:01:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Ace309](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ace309/32/1050_2.png) [@Ace309](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ace309)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2020, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-we-allow-usernames-that-are-misleading-as-defined-in-this-post/855852/1 "2020-06-17T16:01:55Z")
Forgive me for the unclear thread title. My question is about SDMB posters with usernames that would appear at a glance to uniquely identify some entity other than the poster. Examples include **Barack Obama** (who I presume is not the former President of the United States, although that may be the poster’s given name), the departed **[xkcd](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/member.php)** (who was not Randall Munroe), and the poster who brought this question to mind, **Askreddit**. For those who avoid the site, Ask Reddit is a popular subreddit in which you ask questions designed to elicit a variety of creative or interesting stories. There is no individual who is Ask Reddit, but at first glance the poster **Askreddit** might seem to be representing the community in a way that might be confusing to other posters. Similarly, I recall thinking the poster **xkcd** was in fact the artist before it was made clear that he was not. I’m not sure what the motivation of these posters is, but I can see how it might be relevant. Part of the reason I ask is that I’ve begun using a relatively consistent alias elsewhere, but there is a little-known musician who uses the same name as his stage name. Part of the reason I ask is that I’m an inveterate busybody. So, all that to say: Should the SDMB allow the usernames described in this post, or should those posters be encouraged to select usernames that would not cause that confusion? ---
**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:** [June 17, 2020, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-we-allow-usernames-that-are-misleading-as-defined-in-this-post/855852/2 "2020-06-17T16:08:21Z")
Unless you have at least 5 air-to-air kills on your record… ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2020, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-we-allow-usernames-that-are-misleading-as-defined-in-this-post/855852/3 "2020-06-17T16:10:00Z")
I don’t like the misleading names. I’d support disallowing them. ---
**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2020, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-we-allow-usernames-that-are-misleading-as-defined-in-this-post/855852/4 "2020-06-17T16:14:34Z")
I think the number of people confused by any of the names mentioned thus far is in the single digits. ---
**Author:** ![FastDan1](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fastdan1/32/427_2.png) [@FastDan1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FastDan1)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2020, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-we-allow-usernames-that-are-misleading-as-defined-in-this-post/855852/5 "2020-06-17T16:17:39Z")
Ask my wife. She’ll confirm my username is not misleading. ---
**Author:** ![Ace309](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ace309/32/1050_2.png) [@Ace309](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ace309)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2020, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-we-allow-usernames-that-are-misleading-as-defined-in-this-post/855852/6 "2020-06-17T16:19:48Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Unless you have at least 5 air-to-air kills on your record… You’re thinking of **Ace308**. I’ve won 309 hands of blackjack by being dealt 21. ---
**Author:** ![Ace309](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ace309/32/1050_2.png) [@Ace309](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ace309)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2020, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-we-allow-usernames-that-are-misleading-as-defined-in-this-post/855852/7 "2020-06-17T16:24:33Z")
> [@Ruken](#): > > I think the number of people confused by any of the names mentioned thus far is in the single digits. I agree, but there’s something difficult to articulate that’s unsettling to me about the usernames. I’m curious whether it’s a good policy to allow posters to use these names, even conceding that I don’t think they’re attempting to claim an identity. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.winston_oboogie/32/2945_2.png) [@Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Winston_OBoogie)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2020, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-we-allow-usernames-that-are-misleading-as-defined-in-this-post/855852/8 "2020-06-17T16:34:02Z")
> [@Ace309](#): > > Forgive me for the unclear thread title. My question is about SDMB posters with usernames that would appear at a glance to uniquely identify some entity other than the poster. If anyone is confused, I am not John Lennon. ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2020, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-we-allow-usernames-that-are-misleading-as-defined-in-this-post/855852/9 "2020-06-17T16:52:11Z")
While it’s not a huge deal, I’m kind of with the OP on this one. Sure, I know that poster **Barack Obama** is not the real ex-president, but at the same time seeing the name is a little distracting. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2020, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-we-allow-usernames-that-are-misleading-as-defined-in-this-post/855852/10 "2020-06-17T17:01:37Z")
> [@Ruken](#): > > I think the number of people confused by any of the names mentioned thus far is in the single digits. We generally rely on the common sense of our members to realize that certain names do not represent the real individuals. Should someone actually try to impersonate a famous person, or try to mislead people via their username, they would be banned as a troll as soon as that became apparent, so I don’t think it’s really an issue. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2020, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-we-allow-usernames-that-are-misleading-as-defined-in-this-post/855852/11 "2020-06-17T17:04:00Z")
That rule could probably be enforced here. Out in the Real World, it would lead to debates, arguments, and eventually riots about what constitutes a misleading name, or even a Real Person. People would complain that restricting user names violates the Bill of Rights and the first 300 amendments to the Texas constitution (it has 507 amendments). It would get ugly real fast. But here in the cozy compound governed by a benevolent and fearless oligarchy… yes, I think it would work. I support this. Full disclosure: I’m not the real \*\*ThelmaLou \*\*and I don’t have a recipe for cashew fudge. Although I’m sure I could come up with one pretty fast. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2020, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-we-allow-usernames-that-are-misleading-as-defined-in-this-post/855852/12 "2020-06-17T17:06:50Z")
Dammit. Now I want fudge. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2020, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-we-allow-usernames-that-are-misleading-as-defined-in-this-post/855852/13 "2020-06-17T18:11:11Z")
We had a similar thread a while back - [Using Celebrity Names As Nicks Here? - About This Message Board - Straight Dope Message Board](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=648975) I think the same argument that was used then, holds now - Caveat emptor ---
**Author:** ![Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intergalactic_gladiator/32/112_2.png) [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2020, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-we-allow-usernames-that-are-misleading-as-defined-in-this-post/855852/14 "2020-06-17T18:11:47Z")
Looks like I’m safe. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2020, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-we-allow-usernames-that-are-misleading-as-defined-in-this-post/855852/15 "2020-06-17T20:27:09Z")
I’ve been using [a misleading username](https://imgur.com/a/YTG1Fzr) for years, and getting away with it. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Tripler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripler/32/21807_2.png) [@Tripler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tripler)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2020, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-we-allow-usernames-that-are-misleading-as-defined-in-this-post/855852/16 "2020-06-17T21:22:26Z")
If anyone has a misleading name, it’s **TriPolar**. More times than I can count, I’ve been mistaken for him, and probably vice versa. While he’s probably more ‘hip,’ ‘23-skiddo,’ and ‘with it,’ and all cool with the kids and stuff, I’ve been here longer. And I have more guile and treachery. Respect yer elders. Tripler . . . and get off my lawn. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2020, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-we-allow-usernames-that-are-misleading-as-defined-in-this-post/855852/17 "2020-06-17T21:41:08Z")
Wait, so the Exapno Mapcase who posts here _isn’t_ one of the Marx Brothers in real life? :eek: ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2020, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-we-allow-usernames-that-are-misleading-as-defined-in-this-post/855852/18 "2020-06-17T22:08:00Z")
> [@Tripler](#): > > If anyone has a misleading name, it’s **TriPolar**. More times than I can count, I’ve been mistaken for him, and probably vice versa. While he’s probably more ‘hip,’ ‘23-skiddo,’ and ‘with it,’ and all cool with the kids and stuff, I’ve been here longer. And I have more guile and treachery. > > Respect yer elders. > > Tripler > . . . and get off my lawn. More importantly, you have nukes and you know how to use them. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2020, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-we-allow-usernames-that-are-misleading-as-defined-in-this-post/855852/19 "2020-06-17T22:20:48Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > I don’t like the misleading names. I’d support disallowing them. I concur. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2020, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-we-allow-usernames-that-are-misleading-as-defined-in-this-post/855852/20 "2020-06-17T22:22:07Z")
> [@Ruken](#): > > I think the number of people confused by any of the names mentioned thus far is in the single digits. Not only posters read this site. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-we-allow-usernames-that-are-misleading-as-defined-in-this-post/855852.md?page=2)