I always wanted to ask you guys...

[Andri]

... and gals... Where do your forum names come from?

Jenn seems pretty straightforward... unless her name is Mary, of course. But Tai? Or Q? Or a combination of Pogo and Zorro? D3gNr8 looks cool as a game handle, but how did you end up picking that? Or what's so creole about Ned? (Whose real name is probably Carl. Or Bob or something like that.)

Come on, spill some beans for my entertainment. :D

[Kermit]

My CB radio handle was Pegasus, but all my friends in high school used to call me up every weekend to find out what was going on in the way of parties or entertainment. Sperril (who hasn't been trolling on MC for a long damn time now) started calling me Kermit because if you ever watch any of the Muppet movies, everyone kind of looks to Kermit to see what's happening next or what to do.

"We're going to a party at Kermit's house." is a lot easier to pronounce than "We're going to a party at Pegasus's house."

Edit: I also do a reasonably passable Kermit impersonation/voice.

[Tai]

It's a secret. :)

[Patton]

I used Patton as a joke name when I went to a local cybercafe. They weren't called cybercafes back then, but it was a store with computers and we went to go play Counter-Strike on the T1 connection. My friends and I all decided to use famous military names. Calhoun, Stonewall, etc. I chose Patton.

It stuck. :D

[F7]

Right around the time I got into online FPS gaming (read: Tribes), I was on a 'cult classic movie kick' I guess you could say...my favorite of which was 'Logan's Run'.

Assuming you know the premise of the movie, in the beginning Logan 5 and Francis 7 who were both 'Sandmen' (bounty hunters) were chasing a runner when the runner stopped and turned to fight. He began shooting at Francis 7 who began toying with him and laughing maniacally while being shot at from point blank range. I fell in love with the character Francis 7 (played by Richard Jordan) instantly.

It doubly stuck due to my French heritage (hence the Francis) and my gaming style which like Francis 7's hunting style is aggressive. Then I just shortened it to F7 because who wants to be called Francis? :p

[Paladin]

I picked Paladin when I needed a suitably call-sign sounding name for the original Wing Commander game. I moved on to X-Wing and kept using it. Then I moved on to Multiplayer Battletech on AOL/Gamestorm, which was technically my first MMO. I just kept using it after that.

And F7 really picked Francis because he liked the character named that in "Stripes".

[F7]

And F7 really picked Francis because he liked the character named that in "Stripes".

You just made the list, buddy. Also, I don't like no one touching my stuff. So just keep your meathooks off. If I catch any of you guys in my stuff, I'll kill you. And I don't like nobody touching me. Any of you homos touch me, and I'll kill you.

[jackrabbit]

Lighten up, F7.

[Andri]

Then I just shortened it to F7 because who wants to be called Francis? :p

:lol:


I don't think BoX is trolling these forums anymore. If he is, he better give some explanation for "BoX". :eek:

[Creole Ned]

I believe BoX started out as BoXofHate on AOL.

In 1997 a friend and I signed up on the Internet Gaming Zone so we could play Age of Empires online (it's now the MSN Zone). He decided he wanted to be one of those freaks that pretends to be a woman, so he chose the name Sexy Nancy. Turned out "sexy" was filtered, so he settled on Sweet Nancy.

I mulled over what would go well with Sweet Nancy and the name Creole Ned popped into my head. No reason, no explanation, it just happened. The End!

[Falhawk]

you know how in rpgs (like nintendo/sega ones) they used to ask if you wanted to name the main character.

I always did, I figured why not?

Anyhow I was 15. I liked birds. I always wanted to fly [jets]. Falcon....hawk....Falhawk

[Avalon616]

I chose this screenname when I was about 11 or so, and I was obsessed with Arthurian legend, especially the Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley. I still am a big fan, actually. The 616 is my birthday, not very creative at all. I've been using this handle for over 10 years now, so it's just kinda stuck. I've created lots more, such as nynaevesangreal and Incredidyke, but most were fleeting, my friends refused to contact me at new names and just stuck with the old. So I'm still Avalon616.

[Falhawk]

man that's weird, JR's other handle is Incredidyke

[jackrabbit]

man that's weird, JR's other handle is Indredidyke
http://www.martiancartel.com/jckrbbt/typo_lol.gif

[Sir Lucius]

It's a secret. :)

Tai was one of the pirate Blackbeard's crew. He died of survey.

[Shadowrat]

My favorite name ever of JR's was in Subspace. The game would let you have any name you wanted, but would only display the first 9 characters next to your ship and in the chat window.

Consequently he always flew around as JackRabbi. Oy Vay!

I don't think he liked it much, as that was his rampant antisemetic period.

[Falhawk]

now is his rampant antiseptic period

[Shadowrat]

lol Typo Spoils Joke lol

Unless he was calling you a Rastafarian Lesbian!

[Andri]

Unless he was calling you a Rastafarian Lesbian!

Is there such a thing as that?

And what is a jackrabbit anyway? The fluffy, toothless counterpart to a bobcat?

[Kermit]

It's any one of several species of hare (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hare) that lives in the Southern, Western and Central parts of the US and the civilized portions of Mexico, known for it's long ears, hind legs and general intolerance toward other people's cultures.

[jackrabbit]

I drew a lot of a stylized character called Jackrabbit (http://www.jckrbbt.com/img/2006_img.jpg) in high school, and was called that by people who couldn't remember my name, but who'd seen my sketchbook during study hall.

I forgot about it until I met Shadowrat in '91, who had developed his own anthropomorphic character "Shadowrat". When we began posting to gaming BBS sites in '93, we both used the names of our mascots. I dropped the capitol J for myself, and in most cases have foregone the vowels to help secure it as a unique online identity. Aliases include: warbunny and HareOfWar

There's actually a long and complex backstory for the Jackrabbit character, and one day I will eventually draw it. Probably around the same time I get the Smackdown records page working.

[Tick]

I used to go by BldRnr3 (my first AOL name, way back in like 97 - I played a lot of inline hockey and I ran a lot back then), but abandoned that on gaming sites, primarily TEN and Battle.net (Total Annihilation on the first, Starcraft on the 2nd), switching to TheTickBR3 (the BR3 came from the above nick). When I first joined QB, I was still using that, but it eventually got shortened to Tick

The Tick is a comic book character, who is nigh invulnerable to physical damage but still feels pain, and is also quite dumb, but somehow manages to save the day anyway. His battlecry is "Spoon!" His comic (and later his animated (really entertaining) series and even later short lived live action TV series) were all spoofs of modern comic book characters and storytelling.

[Tai]

never trust lucius when he's "asleep" on the couch =P

[Sir Lucius]

Don't worry, your secret's safe with me :nod:

[Circuit]

My bland name came from my Tribes days. It was the first name I thought of on the old forums after reading ads about the game and assuming I'd take the roll of the fixit type guy. I'd have changed it long ago if I hadn't used it for so long on those forums, which were my first internet boards I became a regular on.

[Creole Ned]

You should change your name to Pedro!

[jackrabbit]

I actually think Circuit is a super awesome name. It's very unique, and fun to type.

[Orion]

My name, same as Kermit. we lived out in the sticks and used CB radios. Had to have a handle of course. I used Orion. Still do. its fairly popular so when it came time to find a name that I could use that's a bit more uniqe, added Iron to my name. Mostly because I have a crippled left hand with mostly metal bones where the real ones used to be. irony, I guess.

[jackrabbit]

http://martiancartel.com/jckrbbt/ironorion.jpg

as seen here, Orion relaxing at home.

[Orion]

I'll get you gaget!

and I totally hate that cat, I put it out, but it comes back the very next day.

[Circuit]

I actually think Circuit is a super awesome name. It's very unique, and fun to type.

I suspect trickery.

[Reaver]

My nick came from Tribes also. I was trying to think of a tribal/plainsmen type name (I liked the Starwolf clan), so I picked Reaver. I believe I first had Blood Reaver but for some reason it got shortened. I signed up on the TPBB in '99(??!!) and it stuck ever since.

Most people think I got the name from StarCraft, which I never played or had even heard of up to that point.

[Budly]

My story is way to long.

[jackrabbit]

I remember playing the PlanetSide beta, seeing planes in the air named <Reaver> and every time thinking "Hey, Reaver's in the beta, too!"

[Creole Ned]

My story is way to long.
15,000 character limit per post.

[Medic]

Mine is also from the Tribes days, when it seemed that I was the only one that was running around the @#$%ing base with the *&^%ing repair pack.

[jenn68]

Yep - mine's pretty boring... started out on AOL as CutiePieJenn68 & got shortened...

Sometimes I do use the variation that 68 is the speed limit of sex, because at 69, you've gotta stop & turn around - badda boom!

That's also slightly better then being 'Dg's Sis'...

[Fitty]

I like 50 Cent cause he is super awesome at rap so I named myself after him

[Sir Lucius]

Fitty Tuck is radio friendly.

[Andri]

LOL, I think I heard YOUR story some time before from Loggy.

[Andri]

Budly, I want to hear your story. If you don't want to type it up, you have to tell me on vent. And then I'll type it up and post if here. :bg:

[armerius]

Armerius came during my Diablo days (yes, Diablo 1) at CMU playing on LAN. I was just looking to create a really unique title and somehow the name just sort of came to me.

it wasn't until years later I found out Armerius is actually a real word.

http://zipcodezoo.com/Plants/C/Caryophyllus_armerius.asp

[samuelk]

Mine is the most imaginative ever. Or not.

It's my real first name and last initial.

[jackrabbit]

I'm going to Google you now and steal your identity!

[Andri]

Mine is the most imaginative ever. Or not.

It's my real first name and last initial.

I admire people who have the guts to use their real name. I am still flinching every time Budly or Box call me Inka in a public WoW channel. I just hope that it's such an odd name that people think it's another game handle. :(

[Patton]

i thought it was actually :lol:

[Budly]

I did too originally :o

[Tai]

I met an "Anka" on our sail from Grenada to Panama. She was German/New Zealand origin currently living down the street from Ned in Vancouver.

[Circuit]

Wait, your name's not Inka? That's how Log always referred to you, so I figured it was your name.

[jackrabbit]

It is. That's the point's she's trying to make. She hoped people think it's another handle instead of her real name.

I'm also weirded out when I hear my own name online.

[Budly]

Yeah, I've talked to inka on the phone a few times and met with foe a few times and it kind of seems weird to not use gaming tags. I'll bet you nova guys are really confused.

[Kermit]

When I meet up with Rat or JR in real life, half the time I call them by thier handles and the other half by real name, but I've known Orion since I was 14. He gets first name treatment only.

[Andri]

It is. That's the point's she's trying to make. She hoped people think it's another handle instead of her real name.

I'm also weirded out when I hear my own name online.

If my name were Mary Smith or Kelly Tailor or something I probably wouldn't mind so much. But Inka is a relatively unique name by itself, and in combination with my last name every idiot could find out where I live. I actually made a fake e-mail account that I am using now for everything game related. :o



I blame it all on Loggy. Yes, it's all his fault.


BTW: I hate my name. I asked my parents once how they came up with such a weird one, and they had no good answer. They only said that I should be glad I am not a boy. :eek:

[Falhawk]

i like the name inka.

[samuelk]

If my name were Mary Smith or Kelly Tailor or something...

Ok, I'll fess up.

My real name is actually Mary Smith Kelly-Tailor.

[Kermit]

Anybody willing to work hard enough can get the data they want on you.

Naive people like myself actually fill out the whois data (http://www.whois.net/whois_new.cgi?d=newcomputerguys&tld=com)on our domains... A lot of city and county records (http://www.co.outagamie.wi.us/) are now available online. Most work email addresses are first.last@companyname.com. My last name is fairly unique and my initials will narrow it down to just a few (one of which has horrible credit btw... don't ever loan money to anyone with my name, I get 4-5 calls from collection agencies per year).

The problem is that the Internet gives us a false sense of anonymity. Ned could instantly look up the city you are posting from right now. As soon as I type the words "bomb" and the name of a major city, you can consider this page added to a database in some supercomputer in the basement of an alphabet agency.

As soon as you put yourself out there, you are out there.

I think most of us here have given up on stalking. And if I was going to start up again, I'd stick to my home area. Nobody is flying cross country to pop anyone in the mouth for some hurt feelings on line.... By the way, I'm sending Guido Ski down to Milwaukee this weekend so everyone down there, watch your asses.

[Tai]

Also, pop-ups will offer to sell you information about yourself (or anyone you are searching on) by 'private' corporations, it is not just the alphabet groups ;)

[jackrabbit]

I, too, like the name Inka. It's unique and pretty.

And yeah, I try to limit the connections to my name and my handle. I don't mind if people can find my posts when they Google my handle. I just don't want there to be any connection between the two. I should maybe start setting up some double blinds, by registering my handle under totally made up real names.

And Sam, I loved your work in Full House. What is Dave Coulier really like?

[Andri]

I, too, like the name Inka. It's unique and pretty.?

Well thanks. I still think it's a weird name. I mean... how about Barbara? THAT would be a normal name. Inka is of course also how we spell those native inhabitants of South America in German; which makes the name doubly weird. Weird enough to be a game handle. :p I got once held up by a Russian border guard for 2 hours just because he could not get over it that my parents named me Inka instead of Inna. It's basically like having Billy as your legal name instead of William - probably perfectly normal in a country like here where you can call your child Chandelier or Pikaboo and nobody says anything against it; but aparrently abhorrent in Russia. Man, those were scary two hours. I was the only foreigner in the entire airport.



And yeah, I try to limit the connections to my name and my handle. I don't mind if people can find my posts when they Google my handle. I just don't want there to be any connection between the two. I should maybe start setting up some double blinds, by registering my handle under totally made up real names.

That's what I have been doing. Wherever I need to register on the Internet now, I use a fake name, birth date, and address. And I don't really mind Ned knowing where I am, but a game like WoW is full of weird people... I don't doubt that they can find you if they really want to, but you don't have to make it easier for potential stalkers by throwing your personal info around.

Maybe I am just too paranoid and distrustful. Comes from living with a guy who hates all people. (Hmm... I think my husband and Foe would get along well. :bg: )

[FoeKilla]

Andri - L70 priest
has an alt in <Martian Cartel>
is often seen hanging out with members of <Martian cartel>
www.martiancartel.com has a WoW forum
that forum has a user named Andri
in some of her posts she confesses her real name in Inka

Andri - L70 priest - real name Inka --- You're fucked now!

[Tai]

plus it is in the google cache now as well.

[Patton]

Yeah, I've talked to inka on the phone a few times and met with foe a few times and it kind of seems weird to not use gaming tags. I'll bet you nova guys are really confused.

You know, I met most of my friends through some kind of gaming.

El Mariachi, Wiglaf, and DrJonez are three of my best friends, I met them at a local LAN club about 6 years ago.

I call El Mariachi and Wiglaf by their real names now. But more often than not, Jonez is "Jonez." I'm not exactly sure why. Maybe because it sounds like a real name, or maybe because I live with El Mar and Wig now.

I always found that fascinating.

[Andri]

Andri - L70 priest
has an alt in <Martian Cartel>
is often seen hanging out with members of <Martian cartel>
www.martiancartel.com has a WoW forum
that forum has a user named Andri
in some of her posts she confesses her real name in Inka

Andri - L70 priest - real name Inka --- You're fucked now!

Well thanks, you old PUKAHKA!

[Andri]

You know, I met most of my friends through some kind of gaming.

El Mariachi, Wiglaf, and DrJonez are three of my best friends, I met them at a local LAN club about 6 years ago.

I call El Mariachi and Wiglaf by their real names now. But more often than not, Jonez is "Jonez." I'm not exactly sure why. Maybe because it sounds like a real name, or maybe because I live with El Mar and Wig now.

I always found that fascinating.

I guess, calling Jonez Jonez will not make people think you weird. But calling the guy next to you El Mariachi...

[Patton]

When I first met them, I didn't know their names. Everyone at the LAN club just called each other by their game names. They called me Patton, even.

Then we started going out to bars and such, and yeah, it seemed wierd to go "Hey El Mar, get me a Killian's!"

[Shadowrat]

Well thanks. I still think it's a weird name. I mean... how about Barbara?

You should tell that to my wife, Barbra. She doesn't like her name.

I keep telling her it's a smokin' hot name. it goes in the list of hot female names

Barbra
Inka
Piper
Gretchen

You could be stuck with a name that 95% of the population has, like Mike. Let me tell you, it sucks. You have to come up with a name to order food with at places where they call your name. Otherwise they call, "Mike" and 90% of the people in the place walk up to the counter.

That's why i always tell them my name is Marco.

My parents almost named me Norbert. Sometimes i think it would have been better.

[Shadowrat]

i guess at least i can freely post under my first name.

Hi i'm mike, you've just narrowed my identity down to 95% of the population.

[Tai]

Hi Frog!!! :wave: :)

[Creole Ned]

My parents almost named me Norbert. Sometimes i think it would have been better.
You are so totally a Norbert!

[Q]

I could post my full real name (first, middle, last) and still no one would be able to find me...

[Tai]

I leave a trail like a meteor. On the one hand it sucks, on the other, it keeps some people out of my hair. :)

[Budly]

That, sir, would be an impossible task.

[FoeKilla]

I could post my full real name (first, middle, last) and still no one would be able to find me...

I'm the same way.

[Avalon616]

I feel pretty safe saying I'm Melissa. The year I was born it was the #1 baby name. I had 5 other Melissa's in my class. It was only a class of 175! I'm sure you guys have already heard the story that I even dated another Melissa... so I switched to my middle name for a little while, Joanne, which got shortened to Jo... Did I mention I'm dating a Joe now?

I WISH I had a name like Inka, which I love by the way. My sister is Genevieve, which is a beautiful name, I hate getting stuck with something so popular. Then again, my sister's full name has 30 letters, and she had to stay late the first day of school to spell it all. So I guess being plain might not be so bad.

As for googling people, it pisses me off. I've had it a couple times where other people have used the sn Avalon616, so it's a mixture of me and someone else. As for my real name, 125 hits, and only 1 of them me.

I think it's much nicer to have a unique name, but maybe the grass is always greener... being less stalkable is nice too.


Also, meteor trails are pretty. Yay, Tai leaves a pretty wake to wish upon!

[FoeKilla]

my first foray into an internet cafe was back when Age of Empires was new and neat. I was with Eradicator of [TFT] fame, known in the Arthas WoW world as Harkonen. Erad is my best friend in real life and it was he who knew of the cafe. So we sit down to play AoE. I had never heard of the game and he had played it once or twice. I ask him "are we friend of foe?" He replies "foe, beeyotch!" or something equally as colorful. When the name option pops up shortly afterword, FoeKilla is born. I've been kicking his ass in video games ever since:spank:
In 10ish years online, registering for anything from gaming sites to harley davidson it has remained unique to me. It's a safe bet that if you ever see a FoeKilla anywhere, it's me.

[jackrabbit]

Chief FoeKilla! (congrats!)

[Tai]

Chief FoeKilla! (congrats!)

What he said :) Well done!! :thumbup:

[FoeKilla]

Chief FoeKilla! (congrats!)

it's not in stone yet, it's just looking good. For now it's still just PO1 FoeKilla

[Andri]

I WISH I had a name like Inka.

For 2000g it's all yours. :bg:


Also, meteor trails are pretty. Yay, Tai leaves a pretty wake to wish upon!

Now I am stuck with a mental image of Tai farting. TY all!

[Tai]

There are worse things to be stuck on. See Falhawk.

[Tick]

My name rarely comes up on google...and it'd be hard to find. There's an actor with my name (shortened first/full last), a reasonably famous academic who goes by Joseph (tho that's apparently his middle name, his first is Robert), and if you google my first/middle initial/last (which is what I use on official documents), you get 2+ pages of google hits and none of them me

[Q]

I get 86,200,000 Google hits for my full name.

[FoeKilla]

7,910,000 with no middle name

1,760,000 with middle initial

1,440,000 with full middle named

1,250,000 with full middle name and suffix

1,210,000 with middle initial and suffix (the name I use officially)

623,000 with middle initial, suffix and my hometown

374,000 with middle initial, suffix and the city I live in now

193,000 with middle initial, suffis and the street I live on

I feel secure

[Andri]

I get 250, but not a single one has actually my name in it. They all refer to some right wing nutcase Austrian polititian with the same last name as me, who apparrently made some comments about the inca culture. I'd really call that 0 hits. However, try yellowpages.com and you get everything from exact address to phone numbers.