Since I’m using a fairly unusually spelled nickname as my handle that corresponds with several email addresses I have, I am for all intents and purposes using my real name. An employer might not know who I am, but my family and most of my friends would immediately. Because of that, I never write anything that I wouldn’t want them to know, but since I’m a pretty open person with anyone I care about anyway I don’t really freak out about it. I’d be more concerned with neighbors knowing who I am than anything else.
I wouldn’t mind at all if my real name was my screen name and I don’t think it would change anything.
I generally don’t understand the lengths some people go to to guard the smallest hint as to their real life identity. I have see a number of threads where the poster’s location was highly relevant to the question they were asking and they felt uneasy even giving the region of the country they are in. I don’t begrudge them whatever steps they feel are necessary, I just don’t get it.
Even though I don’t post with my name I don’t assume that I am anonymous. I’ve met a few dopers and I’ve posted enough about myself here that someone I knew could easily figure out who I am. I never post anything that I would not want traced back to me.
In general I don’t post anything I’d be embarassed about, as I know it’d be fairly easy to figure out who I am just by putting together my location and posts about my job. I can only think of a couple of things I wouldn’t say if I had to use my real name. I’ve only come across 2 people in my life with the same first name.
Sure, I’d still post. I’m a mere cog in the great grinding industrial machine, I understand how professionals might have something to lose by linking their personal posting habits to a real name.
I don’t bitch about family much here, since I’ve already bullied them into submission in real life, so no worries on that account. 
I totally agree. Not giving out your exact mailing address is one thing, but to choose to hide even your state (for the USian Dopers)? I find it extreme, but whatever.
In my case, I try not to lay everything out about my identity. But a sufficiently determined person could put the clues together and figure out who I am. Be forewarned, however, that there’s definitely some misinformation out there…some deliberate, and some incidental.
But a not very determined person would only know that my name is Dave, I’m an engineer, and I live in Dayton, OH. Good luck doing anything with that. Hell, good luck doing anything with even my full name and address.
If I had to post under my full name, I would probably think a little harder about some things I post in places like the Pit or IMHO. But since 90% of my activity is in GQ, there’s not a lot of compromising info to put in there, aside from the occasional anecdote. I stick to the facts.
I don’t post anything that I’m embarrassed of. I try hard to be courteous and polite here and in real life. So my posting habits wouldn’t change.
My posting behavior would be waaaaay different. That’s all I got to say.
I assume I am known and write accordingly. Save trouble in the long run.
Good heavens, I should hope so.
I’d probably post about the same. Although I’ve only ever used my real name online ina handful of places, I’m used this handle almost everywhere online for the last, uh counts 8 years? So it’s already not particularly hard to link me to other places online.
So far here I’ve given my first name once (indirectly, at that), and my last name once as well I believe. The combination is unique, but each name individually is quite common. I can’t see it being particularly easy for someone to track me down, if only because it would take a while to find out my full name. Once someone had that, though, way too easy for comfort.
Somehow, I don’t think I’d have a problem …
This will now drive me batshit crazy for the rest of the night. I can find no past MNF broadcasters whose last names begin with B. Oh, well.
I’d happily post under my real name, and wouldn’t change a thing about the things I will and will not discuss.
I use to use my real name, I still sign off with my real first name. I have met many dopers already and I have hosted two and plan to host a third Jersey DopeFest in June. My wife is a lurker. I am probably one of the least anonymous posters on the board.
I do not assume that an on-line name provides much anonymity. For instance from all the hints, many of know exactly who *Autolycus ** is in real life.
Jim
- I am just kidding, I do not have a clue or the interest in finding out. It is just a joke. Really, just a joke.
No way!
Maybe on some other forums but there is too much of my life contained in my posting history. All those times I talked about my problems, the times I sought advice, Some of it is embarassing for one reason or another. Some of it could even be damaging.
Heck, I don’t even post freely now. I wish there was an anonymous way of posting, akin to that used by slashdot. Not for true anonymity (servers can keep IP logs which can be subpoenaed) so you’d still have to login and be fully accountable for your anonymous posts but you could keep anonymity vis a vis of board members, loved ones, employers or aquaintances as the case may be. Some famous posters may also want to make sure their posts aren’t prejudged by their political/religious/whatever adversaries.
But it might make the board more vulnerable to frivolous lawsuits. Not to mention that anonymizers and guest accounts can still be used by people hell-bent on having a sock puppet so it wouldn’t solve that problem. So maybe the current policies are for the best.
No way, I was stalked by a leftist maniac from another message board once. It’s kind of a shame as I’ve had to present incomplete info a lot of times to protect my identity.
I’m almost certain the guy was part of MNF team; does Terry Bra***** mean anything? If he didn’t do MNF, my memory has completely failed me.
My username Largo62 is just a contraction of my first and last names (Larry Gott) and my age at the time I signed up that handle, because there were other Largo’s on the boards. I’ve always had an aversion to people who “shoot from cover” so in debates on anything important I would not hide my identity. I am a regular contributor to another board called Rational Responders, on which I use Largo also. But on my introductory post I stated my whole name. On those forums I have stated very clearly my atheist thinking. If anything is likely to make me a target, that might. Nevertheless, my real name is out there. I regard usernames as just a convenience, not a shield.
Signed, Larry Gott (A.K.A. Largo 62)
By the way, I’m now 64 and counting.
Nah, he’s on Fox or CBS or something. I thought you were talking about Joe Beismann.