# Stop signing on as me! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [April 5, 2003, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-signing-on-as-me/166640 "2003-04-05T04:59:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2003, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-signing-on-as-me/166640/1 "2003-04-05T04:59:34Z")
Just discovered a new website, and its message board and chat room. I soon found that I am one of very few females who frequent the site, and I humbly admit that I am making quite an impression. Thing is, though; you don’t have to register. Anyone can post, and to get into the chatroom, you only have to put in **a** name, not a registered one, and no password is required. This is the third time now that I’ve popped in, checked the log for the past few hours, and found out that someone has been chatting with my name. (Which was carefully chosen, and not, IMO, something that a person would come up with at a moment’s notice.) Don’t do that! If you can’t get attention on your own, that’s your problem! Don’t jack my name and create all kinds of confusion that will, in all likelyhood, lead to people saying “[name], what were you on about last night? You said something very inconsistent, and in fact, you were rude!” I just **found** this site: don’t spoil it for me! ---
**Author:** ![iampunha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/74df32/32.png) [@iampunha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iampunha)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2003, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-signing-on-as-me/166640/2 "2003-04-05T05:13:54Z")
**[name]** doesn’t require much imagination. I think I could come up with it without thinking too hard;) [sub]RUNNING AWAY BEFORE RILCH BREAKS OFF THE IAM IN HER NAME AND THROWS IT AT ME[/sub] ---
**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:** [April 5, 2003, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-signing-on-as-me/166640/3 "2003-04-05T05:21:38Z")
Why not register, so no one else _can_ use your carefully-chosen name? ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2003, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-signing-on-as-me/166640/4 "2003-04-05T05:30:20Z")
D’oh…When I said “you don’t have to register”, I meant that there **is** no way to register. Otherwise I would have before I posted word one. “I am pun ha; Rilch, I am.” Hmmm… Or should that be “I am pun ha, Rilch: I am!” ---
**Author:** ![iampunha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/74df32/32.png) [@iampunha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iampunha)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2003, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-signing-on-as-me/166640/5 "2003-04-05T05:33:06Z")
1: “I am pun.” 2: “ha.” 1: “Ril?” 2: “chi-” 3: “AM!” ---
**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:** [April 5, 2003, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-signing-on-as-me/166640/6 "2003-04-05T05:45:47Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Rilchiam \* > **D’oh…When I said “you don’t have to register”, I meant that there is no way to register. Otherwise I would have before I posted word one.** Ah, I misunderstood. If this is the sort of chat script I’m familiar with, it doesn’t come out of the box with registration capability for users, but the admins can register a name. Email the site owners and ask them about it. ---
**Author:** ![SPOOFE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@SPOOFE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SPOOFE)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2003, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-signing-on-as-me/166640/7 "2003-04-05T06:01:08Z")
I imagine that, in an environment where people know that anybody could pretend to be anyone at anytime, people are going to have a goodly dose of skepticism and also are likely to avoid getting emotionally close to anything that happens. The SDMB has spoiled us. I, for example, can’t even read a newsgroup thread anymore… ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2003, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-signing-on-as-me/166640/8 "2003-04-05T06:08:01Z")
**Q.E.D.** : Okay, I’ll do that! **Spoofe** , good point. It does aggravate me that the threads on this board don’t “stack”, so to speak. Or whatever you call our system here where only the OP is visible. ---
**Author:** ![iampunha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/74df32/32.png) [@iampunha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iampunha)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2003, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-signing-on-as-me/166640/9 "2003-04-05T06:16:55Z")
That’s one of two reasons I left TMF, Rilch. Any hijack almost instantly becomes the main point of the thread, and getting back on-topic is near impossible. It’s like two small children having a discussion. One minute they’ll be talking about rockets and the next minute how soft the grass is. ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2003, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-signing-on-as-me/166640/10 "2003-04-05T06:18:45Z")
TMF…? ---
**Author:** ![iampunha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/74df32/32.png) [@iampunha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iampunha)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2003, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-signing-on-as-me/166640/11 "2003-04-05T06:22:23Z")
The Motley Fool. [www.my.fool.com](http://www.my.fool.com). Lots of discussion boards. ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2003, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-signing-on-as-me/166640/12 "2003-04-05T06:23:14Z")
Ah. ---
**Author:** ![butter\_pie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/aca169/32.png) [@butter\_pie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/butter_pie)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2003, 7:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-signing-on-as-me/166640/13 "2003-04-05T07:28:44Z")
Heh heh. I used to have people pretending to be me on IRC all the time. The funny thing is, I never use IRC.