Dear whyamihere......

linsen

Why are you here?



Forum names are fascinating things. I was quite an internet "virgin" when I started on BR so I didn't choose the most imaginative name (in fact it is what an dear friend used to call ne when we lived in Austria, and it is a bit like my name). I wish I had chosen something else now. Suggestions?

As for this recent trend to change names - hmm, well, I am not altogether sure you will ever stop being called "Jash", Il Principe

nicklouse

He is still wondering the question himself.

whyamihere

I've been asking for 6 years on these forums, nobody's been able to tell me thus far.

always_tyred

I have mild insomnia.

Christophe3967

Surely everyone just uses their normal name :?

funckchicken

basically i just saw one of those job ads that says "get paid for surfing the net", a couple of interviews later and here i am.

always_tyred

Christophe3967 wrote:

Surely everyone just uses their normal name :?

But then they might find me.

Gavin Gilbert

When I started here, on forum v1 (we are now on v3) everybody used their real names.

I feel more comfortable being up front than hiding behind some silly madde up name.

Eau Rouge

I don't really see what wrong with Linsen. It's unique, easy to remember, and doesn't tie you down to any over-specific area of cycling, all of which help make a good forum name. It's better than mine, a famous corner on a motor racing circuit isn't exactly a great name on a cycling forum, but since I've been using it for far too many years now it's staying.

"Imaginative" is not always a good thing in a forum name. It usually based on some aspect of either your private life or, in this case, cycling culture, and while that's great when you pick it, you can become defined by it very easily. Imagine someone having used "Knobbly Tyres" as their forum name when they joined as a MTB'er , then getting into road bike commuting later on, for example.

nicklouse

Gavin Gilbert
Oh the good old days as they called them. I was just a lurker back then and read a lot but did not dare post. It was only when i wanted some info on my first big frame buy did i join up for V2.

there have certainly been changes over the years.

always_tyred

Gavin Gilbert wrote:

When I started here, on forum v1 (we are now on v3) everybody used their real names.

I feel more comfortable being up front than hiding behind some silly madde up name.

Veiled criticism?
I just googled you. Interesting guy. I know where you live. I'm going to start emailing you at work, accusing you of being pompous and humourless.
So perhaps you should have used a SILLY MADE UP NAME.

CiB

I thought user names were designed to throw people off the scent, in case they know you.

Cheers
Dave
Towcester

il_principe

I changed mine as I decided having my surname forming part of my username might not be the best idea should my employers ever stumble across this forum and take umbrage...

DonDaddyD

"The legend of DonDaddyD and the 9 Immortals."

DonDaddyD first appeared online more than 10 years ago. Back then I wanted something cool that fell from the tongue. I didn't want to use my real name, in the same way I have 2 email addresses; one for business with my real name and one without my name (its onemorenerd for those that are curious) for 'extra curricular activities.....' :P

The name, DonDaddyD developed because
- My middle name begins with D,
- I love the Godfather movies hence 'Don'
- And Daddy? Well "who is the Daddy?" or "Call me Daddy!!!" Heh, I was 15 - 17 when I came up with this... :roll:

Anyway, I first used DonDaddyD on MSN messenger as a display name but didn't really get into Forums until about 6/7 years ago. My first port of call was Marvel directory where I became a Moderator and then 'Supreme Being' (web master :P ). I continued using the name on my own, now defunct, comic website 'Splash Page'. I also used the user name on a forum called Screen Gems (where I sometimes RPG'd) and then when Marvel Directory/Splash Page closed I plied my trade on Newsarama and Bike Radar.

@Gavin Gilbert, if you've had the number of online arguments I've had and seen people hack sites to wipe accounts, steal details or simply to access PMs and Emails you wouldn't want to use your real name as well.

spen666

Gavin Gilbert wrote:

When I started here, on forum v1 (we are now on v3) everybody used their real names.

I feel more comfortable being up front than hiding behind some silly madde up name.

I agree Gavin.

My Mummy & Daddy, Mr & Mrs 666 would be upset if I tried to cover up my real identity and had say used the tag spen665

lost_in_thought

Mine was actually a similar thing to DDD's, without the comic books obviously, I'm not a total loser.

I didn't want to use my real name for fear of, well, the interweb weirdos. We've all seen 'Hackers', dude. So I've been lost_in_thought on just about every website I've had to submit a username for, since I was about 13.





(heeheehee I love to bait... let's see if he bites)

always_tyred

spen666 wrote:

Gavin Gilbert wrote:

When I started here, on forum v1 (we are now on v3) everybody used their real names.

I feel more comfortable being up front than hiding behind some silly madde up name.

I agree Gavin.

My Mummy & Daddy, Mr & Mrs 666 would be upset if I tried to cover up my real identity and had say used the tag spen665

AllTheGear

lost_in_thought wrote:

... I'm not a total loser...

...I didn't want to use my real name for fear of, well, the interweb weirdos.

I'm glad you put your real name in your profile though. Otherwise I would never have been able to find out where you live.

lost_in_thought

AllTheGear wrote:

lost_in_thought wrote:

... I'm not a total loser...

...I didn't want to use my real name for fear of, well, the interweb weirdos.

I'm glad you put your real name in your profile though. Otherwise I would never have been able to find out where you live.

Do I? Curses. Must go and edit.

Ah well, so many people have called their child my name recently that I'm pretty safe.

Gavin Gilbert

Always Tyred wrote:

Gavin Gilbert wrote:

When I started here, on forum v1 (we are now on v3) everybody used their real names.

I feel more comfortable being up front than hiding behind some silly madde up name.

Veiled criticism?
I just googled you. Interesting guy. I know where you live. I'm going to start emailing you at work, accusing you of being pompous and humourless.
So perhaps you should have used a SILLY MADE UP NAME.

There's a number of us. 11 that I know of. One has a CCJ which is a bugger for the rest of us. 2 of us are cyclists, the other being a former member of the London Dynamo. I'm not the martial arts expert, but I am a lot bigger than him 8)

greg66_tri_v2.0

lost_in_thought wrote:

Mine was actually a similar thing to DDD's, without the comic books obviously, I'm not a total loser.

Most important word in that sentence duly identified. :twisted:

lost_in_thought wrote:

I didn't want to use my real name for fear of, well, the interweb weirdos.

Paging don_don, don_don to the courtesy phone please...



A bit of thought about the sh!t I routinely have to eat here will lead most people to work out how I decided on mine.

I've used it for a while now, but I've found there are at least a couple of doppelgangers floating around t'interweb somewhere ...

lost_in_thought

Greg66 wrote:

lost_in_thought wrote:

Mine was actually a similar thing to DDD's, without the comic books obviously, I'm not a total loser.

Most important word in that sentence duly identified. :twisted:

True... see, I'm a bit of a loser because I have friends I've met online, and I'm a dreadful pedant. What's more, I'm really a bit of a geek on a fair few rather boring subjects.

But hey, at least I don't collect comic books.

:P

soy_sauce

how can i change my username?

biondino

As far as I know I'm the only person in the world with my real name, which is a good enough reason for hiding it. Biondino came from 1993, when I spent my university year abroad in Italy. My best friend there was also called Mark, but he was half-Jamaican and although I wasn't properly blond, I was relatively speaking blond enough (with my luxurious long hair, sigh) to be called "biondino" which, as people have correctly translated, simply means Blondie. It's been my no. 1 web moniker ever since - though I have a few others, especially on poker sites.

My friend Mark's nickname, for what it's worth, was "Perfect Mark". I'll leave you to figure out the implications of that.

Greg T

henry_ho_yin wrote:

how can i change my username?

What is this sudden fad with changing your usernames.

Jash / Un Principled I can understand as he used his name in clear (like - er - durrr) but what about the rest of the swapping/changing - I'm easily confused and can't keep up.

soy_sauce

biondino wrote:

As far as I know I'm the only person in the world with my real name, which is a good enough reason for hiding it. Biondino came from 1993, when I spent my university year abroad in Italy. My best friend there was also called Mark, but he was half-Jamaican and although I wasn't properly blond, I was relatively speaking blond enough (with my luxurious long hair, sigh) to be called "biondino" which, as people have correctly translated, simply means Blondie. It's been my no. 1 web moniker ever since - though I have a few others, especially on poker sites.

My friend Mark's nickname, for what it's worth, was "Perfect Mark". I'll leave you to figure out the implications of that.

did you google your real name too? 8)

soy_sauce

Greg T wrote:

henry_ho_yin wrote:

how can i change my username?

What is this sudden fad with changing your usernames.

Jash / Un Principled I can understand as he used his name in clear (like - er - durrr) but what about the rest of the swapping/changing - I'm easily confused and can't keep up.

well, its one of my email address and it's my real name in full(ish) :oops:

roger_merriman

to be honest from usenet to IRC and everything between i used to have usernames but no longer, i have left a trail well over 10 years now via various net stuff, any one who wanted to find me could, i can understand why some might not wish for employers to see etc.

but essentaly Security through obscurity isn't terribly useful, so i simply don't bother and having a reasonbly unusual first-last name combo means i don't have to think up loads of usernames for all the logins.

don_don

Greg66 wrote:

lost_in_thought wrote:

I didn't want to use my real name for fear of, well, the interweb weirdos.

Paging don_don, don_don to the courtesy phone please...

She couldn't possibly be referring to me there's nothing wierd about true love its all the other wierdos shes talking about...

Headhuunter

I'm named after my job. I'm a headhunter, I hunt heads for investment banks. Couldn't think of anything more interesting at the time...

gert_lush

Having just moved to Bristol when I joined the forum, and been jolly amused by the local phrase "gert lush" as in "thats gert lush mind" for some random reason I chose that, have kinda wanted to change it ever since but hey probably wont bother.