# Vanity Searches **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 5, 2003, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vanity-searches/179843 "2003-06-05T15:34:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Wintermute](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e19b73/32.png) [@Wintermute](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wintermute)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2003, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vanity-searches/179843/21 "2003-06-05T18:43:37Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by slortar \* > \*\*Thank God, I have such a unique username. I can fully appreciate how little people talk about me. šŸ™‚ \*\* **Slortar** , my Nemesis TM, while you are never very far from my thoughts, unfortunately, I do not invoke your name on these boards very often. You gotta come hang out in the **Rue** threads, which is where I end up spending most of my time. Or I could be silently stalking you. Which might be more flattering. Erā€¦I mean, no, of course I wouldnā€™t stalk you! Donā€™t be paranoid! šŸ˜ƒ And the large cobra left at the foot of my bed to poison me was eaten by my pet mongoose, kept for just such an occasion. You gotta try harder than that. Or hire better help. šŸ˜› ---
**Author:** ![slortar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6bbea6/32.png) [@slortar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slortar)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2003, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vanity-searches/179843/22 "2003-06-05T18:51:12Z")
Alas, NE Texan, you are sadly mistaken. The PC term for ā€œlittle peopleā€ these days is ā€œhalf pintā€ or ā€œsawed off squirt.ā€ As for Wintermute, your time shall come. Donā€™t think that Rue will protect you, because I have a clever plan to distract him with pornography and nachos. [sub]Damn, I forgot to bribe the mongoose. Did you notice the black widows I put in your pillows?[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![Trigonal\_Planar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/0ea827/32.png) [@Trigonal\_Planar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trigonal_Planar)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2003, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vanity-searches/179843/23 "2003-06-05T19:00:06Z")
I think its time for a new nicknameā€¦wWhen I try doing a vanity search on the internet, all I get are a bunch of chemistry sites :rolleyes:. ---
**Author:** ![Wintermute](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e19b73/32.png) [@Wintermute](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wintermute)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2003, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vanity-searches/179843/24 "2003-06-05T21:55:48Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by slortar \* > \*\*\As for Wintermute, your time shall come. Donā€™t think that Rue will protect you, because I have a clever plan to distract him with pornography and nachos. > > [sub]Damn, I forgot to bribe the mongoose. Did you notice the black widows I put in your pillows?[/sub] \*\* SPIDERS?!?! In my _pillows_?!?! :eek: Thatā€™s cold, **Slortar**. I have, of course, built up an immunity to spider bites, but now I have to go burn my bed. [indiana jones] Spiders. It had to be spiders. :::shudder:::[/indiana jones] Actually, I donā€™t know how much you need to worry about **Rue** , but you might have a fight with **Exgineer** or **Welby**. (That was a much better quality of evil! Keep up the good work!) ---
**Author:** ![earthpuppy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8c91f0/32.png) [@earthpuppy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/earthpuppy)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2003, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vanity-searches/179843/25 "2003-06-06T01:15:36Z")
Not to fear, **Wintermute**! Iā€™m syre Antiquarian will come over and rid you of those spidersā€¦ [see UUGHH!!..](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=188778) ---
**Author:** ![earthpuppy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8c91f0/32.png) [@earthpuppy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/earthpuppy)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2003, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vanity-searches/179843/26 "2003-06-06T01:17:53Z")
**sure** _I need a proofreaderā€¦sheesh!_ :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Scotticher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9c0ed/32.png) [@Scotticher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scotticher)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2003, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vanity-searches/179843/27 "2003-06-06T01:34:56Z")
I never do vanity searchesā€¦should I be? I always thought it was more considerate not to stress the server. So, for those of you who do them, do you just plug in your username, or do you use your nickname, your REAL name and stuff like that? And, DOES it stress the server? Iā€™m confuzzled. [sub]NOT an uncommon occurence, Iā€™m afraidā€¦[/sub] ---
**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 6, 2003, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vanity-searches/179843/28 "2003-06-06T02:15:14Z")
Iā€™m glad to be able to say Iā€™ve thrown a line in the water and netted two Dopers on vanity searches. Tripler And I donā€™t even go fishing! ---
**Author:** ![Achernar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e274bd/32.png) [@Achernar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Achernar)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2003, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vanity-searches/179843/29 "2003-06-06T03:17:29Z")
Yes, it does stress the servers. I imagine you shouldnā€™t be doing it if the board is slow, and not during peak times either. I run a vanity search about once a month. Very seldom do I get anything good. Exactly once somebody referenced the star Iā€™m named after; you can probably guess it doesnā€™t come up in conversation very often. šŸ™‚ ---
**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:** [June 6, 2003, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vanity-searches/179843/30 "2003-06-06T03:25:47Z")
I never do them when the boards are slow _because_ the boards are slow. I expect most people are the same. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2003, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vanity-searches/179843/31 "2003-06-06T04:21:58Z")
I used to do vanity searches and find threads about Winsor McCay and Jules Verne. Now I find threads about Pixar. ---
**Author:** ![Scotticher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9c0ed/32.png) [@Scotticher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scotticher)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2003, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vanity-searches/179843/32 "2003-06-06T04:43:49Z")
Ahā€¦then I expect I shall continue to refrain. Thanks for your input! ---
**Author:** ![Wintermute](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e19b73/32.png) [@Wintermute](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wintermute)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2003, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vanity-searches/179843/33 "2003-06-06T13:00:38Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by earthpuppy \* > \*\*Not to fear, **Wintermute**! Iā€™m syre Antiquarian will come over and rid you of those spidersā€¦ > > [see UUGHH!!..](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=188778) \*\* Thanks, **earthpuppy** , but if heā€™s going to _eat_ them, Iā€™d just as soon deal with the problem my way. Yuck! šŸ™‚ ---
**Author:** ![slortar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6bbea6/32.png) [@slortar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slortar)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2003, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vanity-searches/179843/34 "2003-06-06T13:07:03Z")
Iā€™m not sure which is more funā€¦terrorizing Wintermute by putting spiders in her pillowsā€¦or terrorizing Wintermute by making her watch Antiquarian eating said spiders. šŸ˜ƒ ---
**Author:** ![NE\_Texan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e99b99/32.png) [@NE\_Texan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NE_Texan)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2003, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vanity-searches/179843/35 "2003-06-06T13:17:47Z")
Iā€™ll ditto **Achernar** ā€™s remarks - it is work for the server. However, I bet itā€™s the same amount of work as any other search, so I try to avoid searches when the board is noticeably slow (I mean, if I notice the problem, why make it worse?) **Scotticher** if you do a vanity search, the point is (depending on your taste) to either find replies to posts of yours that you had previously missed, or to find people talking about you in threads you havenā€™t read. Either way, what you want to look for is what people would call you on the board. Thatā€™s usually your username, but it could also be a shortening of it (like everyone calls **Rue de Day** simply **Rue** ), or a name you sign at the end of your posts if people reply to that, or a nickname (doesnā€™t someone refer to **Flamsterette** as **Hamsterette**?), or an abbreviation (more likely for people with long, wordy, usernames; I canā€™t come up with an example at the moment). From the threads Iā€™ve read, **Scotticher** , you could expect a lot of results, and Iā€™m confident they would all be nice things. **DeVena** sounded above like she had a bad experience with a search. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2003, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vanity-searches/179843/36 "2003-06-06T15:01:34Z")
No vanity searches for me - you need a nick of 4 characters or more. Perhaps this is a good thing. ---
**Author:** ![clayton\_e](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c57346/32.png) [@clayton\_e](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clayton_e)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2003, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vanity-searches/179843/37 "2003-06-06T15:53:20Z")
Iā€™ll do a vanity search from time to time just to see how a conversation that I took part in turned out. Sometimes I search for my name if I expect that I mightā€™ve been quoted in a thread that I wrote something large or controvercial in. Just in case I need to respond to a question. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2003, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vanity-searches/179843/38 "2003-06-06T16:01:51Z")
Itā€™s mainly just a good way to insure someone hasnā€™t misunderstood something you said or keep a discussion from being left hanging. Some days nothing comes up. Others, like today, returned 15 hits. Thatā€™s what you get when you use the word ā€œpulsingā€ in a thread about spiders. ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2003, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vanity-searches/179843/39 "2003-06-06T19:36:20Z")
To answer the OP, the issue of bumping threads with new replies is discussed in the [FAQ](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=106617): > [@](#): > > **What if I want to continue / add to the discussion on a topic that was mentioned in an old thread?** > > Start a new thread with a link to the old thread. A general guideline for ā€œoldā€ would be a thread older than three months. I do frequent searches for my posts, and occasional keyword vanity searches. I think Iā€™ve only found an independent reference to my username once. Part of the problem is that a lot of people call me Spoiler or SV, neither of which is very useful as a search term. ---
**Author:** ![dantheman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dantheman/32/9421_2.png) [@dantheman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dantheman)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2003, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vanity-searches/179843/40 "2003-06-06T19:41:43Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by qts \* > \*\*No vanity searches for me - you need a nick of 4 characters or more. Perhaps this is a good thing. \*\* Just search on ā€œqts\*ā€; that might work. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vanity-searches/179843.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vanity-searches/179843.md?page=3)