Using your real name online? [Paranoia] (20)

1 Name: 404 - Name Not Found : 2012-12-24 22:48 ID:IK3txEi2 This thread was merged from the former /net/ board. You can view the archive here.

How often do you use your real name online? Do you intentionally avoid tying your pseudonymous/anonymous postings and content to your real world identity? Why or why not?

2 Name: 404 - Name Not Found : 2012-12-25 01:42 ID:Heaven

i rarely use any name online, but i go out of my way to hide my identity because i don't have any reason to.

3 Name: 404 - Name Not Found : 2012-12-25 14:31 ID:9yRuD1O3

i am far too paranoid to use my real name online.
i also swap user names a lot and have multiple e-mail addresses.

4 Name: 404 - Name Not Found : 2012-12-26 02:16 ID:LW2ZmWsF

The few times I have, I've regretted ever since. Curse you, childhood!

5 Name: 404 - Name Not Found : 2012-12-27 19:03 ID:Heaven

>>4
I love being old because I don't have this problem.

6 Name: 404 - Name Not Found : 2012-12-29 02:51 ID:LW2ZmWsF

>>5
One day when I'm dead, I'll be in heaven too!

7 Name: 404 - Name Not Found : 2013-01-02 02:23 ID:cC8H7lIA

Only for interacting with people from meatspeace. Basically I just have a Fagbook and an Email with my real name. EVERYTHING else is either my Internet name or anonymous.

8 Name: 404 - Name Not Found : 2013-01-23 22:06 ID:0s+AYd66

I do much the same. Mostly it's a free speech thing. I don't want to feel like expressing my opinion on the web is going to haunt my life. For example, I wouldn't want to post political stuff connected to my real name because if I had strong opinions on something pro or con and a prospecitve employer found out about it, it means I don't work there. It's just the way things are headed -- employers demand your online life, because they want to find a drunk picture of you or some controversial opinion or something so having said opinions connected to your name is potentially problematic.

9 Name: 404 - Name Not Found : 2013-02-02 22:09 ID:MT4B+pH1

I often use fake names for different accounts; characters from coronation street in the 60s and stuff

10 Name: 404 - Name Not Found : 2013-04-11 13:53 ID:AcDfYGqz

what is a real name

do you mean a name you usually use offline

because if then, i don't

i don't feel like doing it

11 Name: 404 - Name Not Found : 2013-04-16 09:07 ID:ZtIBZMR+

>>10 no we man the true name the order of magic gave you upon true initiation

12 Name: 404 - Name Not Found : 2013-04-23 02:02 ID:BDQiVwJ7

It depends. Some communities have a formal feel and while there are people who use pseudonyms anyway, it's like you're going against the feel of the place. Many more are a lot more informal and I end up not giving a shit and just go with a random nick. But in online gaming I prefer to use a real.. nickname simply to make conversations in game flow better. Imagine saying, for example, "Matt" versus "BROfastRacedriver" (www) when trying to explain a plan to someone; people end up abbreviating the latter in all sorts of ways and it can get a bit confusing. Then again I don't end up playing in public games all that often.

>>8
This is a good point, I've never stopped to see just how much I restrain my speech when using a real name. I suppose simply being in a more formal community would make me restrain my speech either way.

13 Name: 404 - Name Not Found : 2013-05-20 18:53 ID:W9ewUh4Q

Outside of Google+ (where I post publicly and under my real name, contributing almost exclusively in Japanese) and the odd online government petition, I tend to use either completely identical pseudonyms or minor variations on a theme on websites that require registration. I don't outright link these pseudonyms to my real name or my G+ account, but I don't go to any significant effort to obscure the connection either, so anyone who cares enough could probably find up to 80% of my online output in <20 minutes of googling.

The only times I actually bother to obscure my identity a bit more are instances where I'm concerned about future legal and/or social repercussions. Think accounts on private BitTorrent trackers, porn sites and the like.

14 Name: 404 - Name Not Found : 2013-05-21 08:58 ID:C+wDYZAM

On a related note, would anyone be interested in a Google+ community for 4-ch regulars?

15 Name: 404 - Name Not Found : 2013-05-31 00:33 ID:Heaven

>>14
I might be interested, but I only visit Google+ about once a month...

16 Name: 404 - Name Not Found : 2013-06-22 17:16 ID:LW2ZmWsF

>>14
people actually still use this?

17 Name: 404 - Name Not Found : 2013-07-29 21:36 ID:9KWcY42s

>>16
I'm with this guy

18 Name: 404 - Name Not Found : 2013-08-17 00:04 ID:zU2goKOg

I only use my real name when it's a safe thing to do. Only my first, never the last. I'm no fool, I would never put my full name on the web.

19 Name: 404 - Name Not Found : 2013-08-28 00:03 ID:CBwpYbAK

I have never used my real name for anything on the internet, with the exception of a single gmail account under my name for official things (which hardly counts).

20 Name: 404 - Name Not Found : 2013-09-20 02:50 ID:RUqxRB7U

>>7
Meatspace... Haven't heard that one in a while. I feel like this should be more of a thing.

I personally almost never use my real name online. The few times I do, it's usually if I'm purchasing something offline, where it ask's for the card holder's name. (Not everyone does this check, so only when it's required I give it. Otherwise it's being mailed to someone with a weird name.)

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