Mike Phillips
Active member
- Dec 5, 2022
- 51,004
- 6
Why use a nickname on a forum? But use your real name on Facebook?
I've never understood the me-to pattern for using nicknames when joining forums. Sure I get it when a guy that owns a 2002 Malibu joins a forum and for a forum nickname goes with 02Malibu but why not just go with your actual name?
I can trace my first post to this thing we all call the Internet back to 1994. Below is the link to that article. It's something I wrote while working for Hewlett-Packard in Corvallis, Oregon when the Internet was BRAND NEW. Discusson forum software like I'm typing on right now didn't exist back then. Instead there was something called the Usenet Newsgroups and I wrote this article and posted to a group called
rec.autos.misc
It's a horrible article as whatever software I typed it in didn't have Spell Check and I see tons of spelling mistakes as well as grammar mistakes. Plus a shoddy job of expressing comprehensive stream of thought. But I think it's kind of cool that someone n the MR2.com website liked it enough back in 1994 to preserve it as a webpage on their site. My guess is the person that did this is no longer even a part of the MR2.com website as people come and go and it's been 23 years since I wrote and posted this article.
How to Polish Paint by Hand
The point of sharing the above is even way back then I posted under my real name, Mike Phillips. And when I joined my first discussion forum I joined under Mike Phillips. There's a couple of reasons for this,
1: I don't do stupid stuff online so I don't mind posting under my real name.
2: Posting or writing under your real name causes a person to conform to some sort of accountability. It keeps you honest among your peers.
3: Using your real name brands you. There's no benefit in branding fuzybunny77.
4: Using your real name is form of leading by example.
There's probably a few other reasons I can come up with but the above is of the top of my head.
Historical reasons for using a nickname
When the Internet was first introduced, people would join a forum using a nickname for all kinds of reasons, some would be nefarious, that is they intend to cause trouble and they don't want to be held accountable. For others, it's the idea of protecting their privacy.
Now that can make sense, protecting one's privacy. But then this thing called Facebook came a long and EVERYONE jumped on that bandwagon. And when joining Facebook you join with your real first and last name. Yes I know a few people that have made up first and last names and I know some people have a business name for their business Facebook page.
But you can't argue with the fact that the majority of people, that is the MASSES have jumped on the FB Bandwagon and have used their first and last name to create an account.
Even more... they include all sorts of personal information with their account and then post things like what their doing, where their going and even what they're eating!
It's so far from the excuse used for using a nickname when joining a forum that it's laughable.
Change your mind?
If you're reading this and you've been thinking about changing from using a nickname to your real name or a name that brands your detailing business then here's what you can do.
Simple send me an e-mail or PM and type out EXACTLY what you want your forum name to be and I can and will make the change for you.
You don't have to use your first and last name, instead you can do like my buddy Frank does and use your first name and first initial of your last name. Frank goes by FrankS on our forum. He could have went by Frank S or Frank S.
And it's nice for anyone that's in this for the long run to know who they are talking to or rather typing to.
It's up to you I'm just saying for what it's worth... I've always thought forum nicknames were silly. I think ONE GUY started it and everyone else fell in line.
That's my take...
:cheers:
I've never understood the me-to pattern for using nicknames when joining forums. Sure I get it when a guy that owns a 2002 Malibu joins a forum and for a forum nickname goes with 02Malibu but why not just go with your actual name?
I can trace my first post to this thing we all call the Internet back to 1994. Below is the link to that article. It's something I wrote while working for Hewlett-Packard in Corvallis, Oregon when the Internet was BRAND NEW. Discusson forum software like I'm typing on right now didn't exist back then. Instead there was something called the Usenet Newsgroups and I wrote this article and posted to a group called
rec.autos.misc
It's a horrible article as whatever software I typed it in didn't have Spell Check and I see tons of spelling mistakes as well as grammar mistakes. Plus a shoddy job of expressing comprehensive stream of thought. But I think it's kind of cool that someone n the MR2.com website liked it enough back in 1994 to preserve it as a webpage on their site. My guess is the person that did this is no longer even a part of the MR2.com website as people come and go and it's been 23 years since I wrote and posted this article.
How to Polish Paint by Hand
The point of sharing the above is even way back then I posted under my real name, Mike Phillips. And when I joined my first discussion forum I joined under Mike Phillips. There's a couple of reasons for this,
1: I don't do stupid stuff online so I don't mind posting under my real name.
2: Posting or writing under your real name causes a person to conform to some sort of accountability. It keeps you honest among your peers.
3: Using your real name brands you. There's no benefit in branding fuzybunny77.
4: Using your real name is form of leading by example.
There's probably a few other reasons I can come up with but the above is of the top of my head.
Historical reasons for using a nickname
When the Internet was first introduced, people would join a forum using a nickname for all kinds of reasons, some would be nefarious, that is they intend to cause trouble and they don't want to be held accountable. For others, it's the idea of protecting their privacy.
Now that can make sense, protecting one's privacy. But then this thing called Facebook came a long and EVERYONE jumped on that bandwagon. And when joining Facebook you join with your real first and last name. Yes I know a few people that have made up first and last names and I know some people have a business name for their business Facebook page.
But you can't argue with the fact that the majority of people, that is the MASSES have jumped on the FB Bandwagon and have used their first and last name to create an account.
Even more... they include all sorts of personal information with their account and then post things like what their doing, where their going and even what they're eating!
It's so far from the excuse used for using a nickname when joining a forum that it's laughable.
Change your mind?
If you're reading this and you've been thinking about changing from using a nickname to your real name or a name that brands your detailing business then here's what you can do.
Simple send me an e-mail or PM and type out EXACTLY what you want your forum name to be and I can and will make the change for you.
You don't have to use your first and last name, instead you can do like my buddy Frank does and use your first name and first initial of your last name. Frank goes by FrankS on our forum. He could have went by Frank S or Frank S.
And it's nice for anyone that's in this for the long run to know who they are talking to or rather typing to.
It's up to you I'm just saying for what it's worth... I've always thought forum nicknames were silly. I think ONE GUY started it and everyone else fell in line.
That's my take...
:cheers:
