Not to nitpick here, barstow, but John was acutally replying to a legitimate question, not mounting a soapbox. You may accord this post whatever respect you feel it deserves; I don’t give a damn.
The usual answer to what is a sock is a single link. To say more is to invite a change of topic. That’s all I was saying.
Huh. Which link? I must admit that any time someone asked “what’s a troll?” or “what’s a sock?” I went ahead and gave the full answer. I must not be jaded enough yet.
Anyways, I don’t want to hijack the scintilating conversation about what types of usernames suck and what doesn’t, so let’s not hijack this too much further.
As Sealemon88 said: While I agree that ten is the way to go, what’s wrong with being silly?
I like silly. 
Yes, silly names are fun.
Everyone here has a silly name, (except Homer and SpiderWoman).
Here I can be glamourous isopropyl, while at home I’m just plain old Ms. Rubbing Alcohol
On subject
I may not have a name but at least it’s got ten letters
Off subject
“Sock” seems inappropriate because a sock is is a deadend, a cul-de-sack
whereas I gather a sock usually does lead somewhere else?
“Windsock” seems more appropriate as it’s a tube
though it could be confused with winsock which means something else
to those who know more than me
“Oldsock” would do because (mine anyway) match the windsock in function.
Not that I wish to continue the hijacking of this erudite thread.
Even further off subject
As a nervous newbie, I hereby reassure myself with a warm welcome.
I’ll read it back later and feel relieved.
Oldsock, oldscratch, sounds like a retirement home around here 
Personally, I think all wrong-thinking people are right.
Actually, we should all have boring, bland, non-humorous user names. A stimulating or intriguing user name could distract a thread reader from the scintillating content of our posts.
Pretty good, thanks. I had taken a long vacation from the Internet to focus on the holidays and family. I knew that I could come back to these boards anytime, and everything would be the same an–
COLDFIRE’S A MODERATOR??
Fuck.
Oh well. I’ve never seen a message board implode before. That should be good for some cheap entertainment.
(Seriously, a very belated congrats to the Clogboy. Moderating seems to suit you)
I don’t know if it’s different browsers, but font size could be a cause. I never have a problem with long usernames unless I increase my font size.
Oh, and I’ll be the first to admit that I have a stupid user name. People rarely ever get it right. I’ve been called beakerfx, beakerxt, etc.
I just threw the last two letters on there because “Beaker” was already in use everywhere else. I wanted a name that was guaranteed to be available.
Beaker
No problem here either. Internet Explorer 5.5
I agree
TheMermaid
12345678910
10 letters is perfect! And, ideally it should give you a clue as to the user’s hobby (astronomy), gender, and have a mysterious and unexplained number at the end!