A bit of a rant about user names on the forums

when i joined this forum and some related ones, i was asked to make my user name close to my real name. so i used the same user name i used at the office. my location is accurate. got nothing to hide. yes their are bad guys on line looking for prey, but changing your user name to smartalex is not going to slow them down.
 
CMS3900 said:
...

I am glad that Knife Dog's rarely has these issues as well. Thanks for a great forum Tracy. Now.... How about some BBS Door games?
Click to expand...

Door games. Old skool.
We won't be putting in any door games. They are just an invitation to be hacked and we fight that enough the way it is.
t
 
Tracy wrote:
We won't be putting in any door games
Click to expand...

Thank you - I lost interest in computer games back in text based game days. Didn't mind the text based part (everything was command line anyway), just hard to "think" like a programmer (who writes the games) thinks..... Those boys think backwards! Just got to tell about early '90's when living in Guatemala on the Rio Dulce (sailboat days). I got a frantic call on VHF (marine band) from a buddy who was a "hard core" programmer (lives, breathes, dreams computers/games) asking if I had a 3/8" drill bit. Sure, got a couple, what's wrong, SS isn't that hard? He's coming, says his 3/8" bits won't scratch the chainplate when trying to drill thru an extra hard stainless steel chainplate. Something is wrong I say..... then thought..... did you check rotation of drill motor? Is it in reverse?

A few minutes later he came back on radio....... Ooops - drill motor in reverse. Putting drill in forward, bit cuts that "hard" stainless like butter!

Ken H>
 
BossDog said:
Door games. Old skool.
We won't be putting in any door games. They are just an invitation to be hacked and we fight that enough the way it is.
t
Click to expand...

I was kidding of course, your post just reminded me of some fun times.
 
I am new to this forum but not new to this ol' world. I don't give 2 cents what one cares to be called or what others choose to call me. What I do care about is respect. Ya give it your gonna get it back. I live my life around people who go by something other than their given name. Many of them I know their real names and some I do not and I have known them for 30-40 years. I could register here under a false name and no one, save for less than a handful would never know. A written name means nothing. It is the character and integrity that a name represents that has meaning. I do think this is what the OP was all about. My "names" are in my signature. Feel free to use any of them or anything else you feel appropriate. I have been pretty much been called everything anyway!! LOL!!
 
While I certainly agree that there are many people out there that hide behind handles and user names other than their real name for the express reason of being a problem for others in one way or another, there are certainly many other reasons as well. Personally, I use a user name because of my work. I own my own business and provide a financial service to my clients. If I were to freely promote my religious beliefs, political party and platform as well as a number of other items that could be controversial or sensitive to certain people I would lose business. I don't mean anything radical here either, nothing like saying I'm a Satanist or a communist or anything like that. Just the revelation of my political party being either Democrat or Republican could cost me customers and in todays market I need all the clients I can get! Additionally, I'm a prepper and anyone that even knows the term knows that there are many that see those that do any prepping to be kooks and weirdos even if I'm only prepping for such things as a tornado, ice storm, etc. So I use a handle or user name that's not my own name not for any nefarious reasons but to protect myself. You'll not ever find a post here from me that is anything other than G rated and as non-confrontational as possible, even if I am "hiding" behind a user name. :9:
 
Last edited:
I think there are several very valid reasons to use a handle on social media.
 
I agree Tracy....lots of valid reasons. I suspect that this particular thread has accomplished at least part of it's mission, as NONE of those whom I had in mind when I started, have posted in it.... I would like to think that they've received the message.
 
I was at first surprised how much activity there was on this thread. I read the first couple posts and thought that seemed to pretty well covered it. Obviously, there are quite a few members chiming in that for the most part agree with what Ed said. I do too. In my case, I don't feel that comparatively speaking, I have much to offer the forum, as far as knife making advice. But, I do try to chime in once in awhile, if even just a subject I think might be interesting, or in the Christian sub-forum (which I really appreciate).
I strongly agree that we need to be careful what image we are projecting on-line- that it conveys truely who we are. I don't think many care about what my name is, but on the other hand, giving my name builds in a certain amount of responsibility/accountability. For me, that's a good thing. One of the things I appreciate most is that members here will tell me what I need to hear, not just what I want to hear.
I am a Home Inspector by trade,and I am shocked at the things inspectors will post on the Inspection message board (of the org. I am certified through). Very unprofessional, petty, ugly, or profane posts are made on this board that is open to the public. I visualize a home-buyer's first impression being molded by the garbage they see coming from a few of the inspectors there. NOT GOOD.
I understand the legitimate reasons given here why some remain somewhat anonymous, but for for me, even though my name might not matter much to most, I also don't have anything to hide (usually) and try to keep it that.
Thx,
Bill
 
Yeah I know I used to use the name Okie Headhunter.And dealt a lot with Filipino knives. I do understand some of the people who are may be quite famous that use other names on their post just to not tie up their time. But I really do hate to do business with someone that I don't know at least what their name is. Just one of my many flaws.
 
I use the name of my knifemaking/ blacksmithing "business" (I guess it qualifies- I'm TRYING to make money...) My name, email and a real picture of me are on my profile and in my signature block.

IMHO- Trolls will usually go away if they are not feed.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top