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tinkering with this site

please use a real sounding name

paul wheaton

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posted 13 years ago

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Okay, the time has come.

Please change your permies.com name to be a real sounding name.

And all hatfields and mccoys need to make the change to.

Using your real name would be best, but I understand if you go with a name that just sounds real but is not your real name.

Please do so today.

In a couple of days I'm going to start locking accounts that don't comply. This way, the only posters that people will see will be those that appear to be a real name.

We've been talking about this for years, and now the time has come.

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Marianne Spitzform

Posts: 7

posted 13 years ago

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Hi -- I'm new here, and would like not to be deleted! Especially since it was reading Gaia's Garden over Christmas that got me here! Thanks.
Marianne

paul wheaton

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posted 13 years ago

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This has been my policy at JavaRanch for ten years. And it has been wonderful. Here is the official position: http://www.javaranch.com/name.jsp

Click on "my profile" at the top and you will be able to request a name change.

This thread is a great place to ask questions about this policy. but I warn you, if you say "I won't do it" I will lock your account. The time for talking about this path has passed. I fully expect a lot of people to refuse to use permies.com any more because of this path, and I am okay with that. I think the upsides outweigh the downsides.

If you use a name that is not your real name, but sounds like a real name, that is great. I have only one requirement in that space: never publicly announce that your name is fake.

Thanks!

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Starr Black

Posts: 1

posted 13 years ago

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Hey Paul,

PLEASE don't delete my name--Starr Black may sound like a "fake name",
but its actually my birth name (even the passport office gave trouble some time back).
What can I say, my mother was a child of the 60's who was a fan of Ringo Starr....

Thanks
starr

paul wheaton

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Location: missoula, montana (zone 4)

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posted 13 years ago

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Marianne Spitzform wrote:Hi -- I'm new here, and would like not to be deleted! Especially since it was reading Gaia's Garden over Christmas that got me here! Thanks.
Marianne

Marianne,

Your name looks fabulous. You will not be deleted.

In fact, I won't be deleting any accounts. I'll just lock them so that person won't be able to access the forums. If they fire up a new browser, or delete their cookies, they will still be able to read, but they won't be able to post. And they email address they signed up with will not be able to be used to start another account.

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paul wheaton

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posted 13 years ago

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Starr Black wrote:Hey Paul,

PLEASE don't delete my name--Starr Black may sound like a "fake name",
but its actually my birth name (even the passport office gave trouble some time back).
What can I say, my mother was a child of the 60's who was a fan of Ringo Starr....

Thanks
starr

It sounds real to me.

I once had a housemate who's name was "Ringo" for the same reason.

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Ivan Weiss

Posts: 183

Location: Vashon WA, near Seattle and Tacoma

posted 13 years ago

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I'm already using my real name.

Pastured pork and beef on Vashon Island, WA.

paul wheaton

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posted 13 years ago

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ivan. wrote:I'm already using my real name.

Bizzarre! How did you end up with just one name. I thought the current software could not deal with that.

Ivan,

Please use the "my profile" link to change your name to include a last name.

thanks!

My books, movies, videos, podcasts, events ... the big collection of paul wheaton stuff!

Betty Montgomery

Posts: 52

Location: Lone Oak, TX

posted 13 years ago

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Okay. I'm officially jealous. Here I am stuck with not only a "normal" name but a totally common one! The only oddity is that "Betty" is not a diminutive of Elizabeth or Beatrice. Besides that, Betty was apparently a very popular name back in the '50's as I meet so many others with it. And mine isn't even spelled weird. :O

I babble at www.bettyamontgomery.blogspot.com,
more at www.arurualpointofview.blogspot.com

Tint van der Merwe

Posts: 2

posted 13 years ago

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I'm sad to see this. I'm new here, but Tint is my name all over the internet - on many forums and in my blogs. People know me by that name... both online and offline. My own name is rather unique and recognisable. Sure, I can use another fake name, but I'm bound to forget it. I'm one of those name-challenged people *laugh* Is there any way I can keep my name? I'll abide by the rules, but would prefer to stick to what I have if it's at all possible.

paul wheaton

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posted 13 years ago

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Tint van der Merwe wrote:I'm sad to see this. I'm new here, but Tint is my name all over the internet - on many forums and in my blogs. People know me by that name... both online and offline. My own name is rather unique and recognisable. Sure, I can use another fake name, but I'm bound to forget it. I'm one of those name-challenged people *laugh* Is there any way I can keep my name? I'll abide by the rules, but would prefer to stick to what I have if it's at all possible.

"Tint van der Merwe" sounds fine to me.

If you were to ever state that it is not your real name, then it would become not okay.

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paul wheaton

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posted 13 years ago

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this might be a good time to point out that sometimes, some people have a lot of time on their hands and think it would be fun to play games in this space. They will try border cases and wacky names to see what they can get away with.

Or they will want to engage in discussion to find out how wacky they can be with names in this space.

I'm really far too busy for that kind of thing, so it is just way easier for me to lock the account. The benefit here is that the only people that still post here are those people that get what I am doing, or, are at the very least respectful to what I am trying to do. So everything end up right as rain!

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paul wheaton

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posted 13 years ago

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I want to thank all the folks that have been doing the name change thing this morning. It has been wornderful and smooth.

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Abe Connally

Posts: 1502

Location: Chihuahua Desert

posted 13 years ago

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I've submitted the "change name" form a few times, but I haven't had any change or response.

I do find it a bit discouraging that we are forced to do this. What are the upsides to this policy?

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paul wheaton

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Location: missoula, montana (zone 4)

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posted 13 years ago

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Here is a an old thread for the old software that talks about this a bit: https://permies.com/t/1621/tinkering-site/please-first-name-space-last

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Abe Connally

Posts: 1502

Location: Chihuahua Desert

posted 13 years ago

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I'm not seeing the "why" behind this policy. To create a more "mature" community? really?

We've spent more than a decade building our online reputation through our collective name. It is our brand image that is displayed and respected across the internet. My handle is recognized on dozens of sites and forums.

Now, we have to change that to participate on this site?

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Dave Hartman

Posts: 62

Location: Off grid in the central Rockies of Montana (at 6300') zone 3-4ish

posted 13 years ago

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Howdy, I am just checking to make sure this all worked. Thanks much and lookin forward to meeting Paul in May.

Abe Connally

Posts: 1502

Location: Chihuahua Desert

posted 13 years ago

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I don't know if the majority of users know about this policy (I just learned about it), and I feel left out, cause I haven't been able to participate in the discussion of this policy until now.

It seems like a big inconvenience to loyal user to force them to change their handles. And for what? What is the benefit of this?

We'll have to discuss this internally to decide whether participating on permies.com is worth throwing away 10+ years of building a name for ourselves across dozens of forums and sites. We've contributed countless hours of participation on this forum, but requiring us to change our handle to participate further is disappointing.

If we get locked out, will our past posts be deleted/removed?

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paul wheaton

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Location: missoula, montana (zone 4)

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posted 13 years ago

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Vela,

Check out the link above that points to a thread where we've been talking about this for years.

I'm not seeing the "why" behind this policy.

I think "why" is covered in that thread. And we are now past the "why" and we have moved on to "do"

Now, we have to change that to participate on this site?

The name "velacreations" appears in your signature.

The name to the left of your post needs to be a real sounding name, or, yes, I will close your account.

I haven't been able to participate in the discussion of this policy until now.

the discussion has been ongoing for years. you could have joined in at any time.

If we get locked out, will our past posts be deleted/removed?

No.

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Abe Connally

Posts: 1502

Location: Chihuahua Desert

posted 13 years ago

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yeah, I wasn't aware that this was even being discussed, or I would have participated. I wonder how many users are aware of this change?

the "why" wasn't really covered in that thread. It definitely has a lot of opinions (a lot of negative ones from users with 100's of posts), but no real info on why this policy is required to benefit the community. I do understand that this is "Paul's Site", but I'm just wondering how the community benefits from making everyone change their handles.

In addition to having to change our long-used handle, we have to relearn who everyone is, which is a daunting task.

I am curious as to why our previous posts won't be removed if an account is locked?

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Mike Dayton

Posts: 149

Location: sw pa zone 5

posted 13 years ago

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I changed my name, just thought I would post something to see how I show up now.

Never doubt that a small group of dedicated people can change the world, Indeed it is the only thing that ever has. Formerly pa_friendly_guy_here

Abe Connally

Posts: 1502

Location: Chihuahua Desert

posted 13 years ago

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so, this policy isn't against anonymous handles, it's against non "real sounding" ones.

Is there a link with guidelines as to what qualifies as "real sounding"? What is a "real sounding" name?

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paul wheaton

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Location: missoula, montana (zone 4)

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posted 13 years ago

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I do understand that this is "Paul's Site"

There you go.

I think it is for the best.

And I expect that there will be some people that will choose to leave. I think that what we will gain will be far greater than this loss.

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paul wheaton

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Location: missoula, montana (zone 4)

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posted 13 years ago

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Here is the official policy at JavaRanch: http://www.javaranch.com/name.jsp

And this is now, officially, the policy of permies.com also.

My books, movies, videos, podcasts, events ... the big collection of paul wheaton stuff!

Dave Bennett

Posts: 686

posted 13 years ago

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When I first registered here at permies I used my "stage name" which is MagicDave. I did that because most people know me as MagicDave especially around here where I live because I am a performing musician and was a radio personality on the local classic rock station for a while also. Paul asked me to change it when he invited me to do a podcast. I complied immediately. David Bennett is my real name so it really is not a problem for me.

"When there is no life in the soil it is just dirt."
"MagicDave"

Mark Rose

Posts: 49

Location: Canada

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posted 13 years ago

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Here's an insightful rant on name restrictions: Falsehoods Programmers Believe About Names.

Or there is the case of Adam Nobody who was brutally beaten because police didn't believe his name.

I generally use my real name. My name is common and believable.

I find spammy names to be mildly offensive. It's spam, after all.

Abe Connally

Posts: 1502

Location: Chihuahua Desert

posted 13 years ago

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ok, if our account gets locked, please remove my 500+ posts.

I guess this is the reason I haven't been seeing participation from some of the users who spoke against this policy... Shame, cause they were some of the more informative users here.

And I expect that there will be some people that will choose to leave. I think that what we will gain will be far greater than this loss.

What do you expect to gain?

That's what I am having a hard time with. I can't find the upside. I see long-time users that have invested a lot of time and effort into their identities, only to be forced to change them here. And loosing those members is definitely a big loss to the permies community. You're not requiring real names, but rather, "real sounding" handles. So, what's wrong with our non "real sounding" handles?

I would happily use "Vela Creations", though it doesn't fit your definition of "real sounding".

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paul wheaton

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Location: missoula, montana (zone 4)

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posted 13 years ago

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It is really unclear to me, but I think you said that you choose to not participate in the new naming policy. So I have locked your account.

If it turns out that I have misread what you were saying, then please send me an email and we'll get this straightened out.

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Lolly Knowles

Posts: 159

posted 13 years ago

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So, once I comply, how long am I supposed to wait to know if my "real sounding" name is approved? How will I know? After ten or so minutes the page telling me to wait has not changed. Am I supposed to look for an email?

I guess that answers my questions. {added at edit}

Mike Dayton

Posts: 149

Location: sw pa zone 5

posted 13 years ago

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What will happen to the names on all of our old posts? Will they be corrected to our new names, or will they stay listed under out old name? Just wondered, there are some people that I truely repect what they have to say, I hope I can still know who they are when they post.

Never doubt that a small group of dedicated people can change the world, Indeed it is the only thing that ever has. Formerly pa_friendly_guy_here

paul wheaton

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posted 13 years ago

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Yup! All set!

This morning somebody sent in a request for a name change to something like "Crazy Nutjob" and under "reason" they put "because 'Hatfield' is not my real name" and I thought "today's the day! Toby's coming in a few days and I think it would be really nice if all the names looked right."

So, yeah, you submit a request and then one of the staff approves it. Done. Usually just a few minutes.

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paul wheaton

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Location: missoula, montana (zone 4)

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posted 13 years ago

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Mike Dayton wrote:What will happen to the names on all of our old posts? Will they be corrected to our new names, or will they stay listed under out old name? Just wondered, there are some people that I truely repect what they have to say, I hope I can still know who they are when they post.

Go look - the software automatically uses the updated name.

If you want people to know about your old pseudonym, you can add that to your signature.

My books, movies, videos, podcasts, events ... the big collection of paul wheaton stuff!

Alex Vavalis

Posts: 1

posted 13 years ago

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Hey Paul, new here and just like to say what a great job you doing!!! Im originally from Brazil and residing in New Zealand for the last 15 years, and on a mission to became self-sustainable!!! Thanks for all the info, etc... People like you and everyone else involved in the movement are the real hope on this earth!!! Cheers
Ah, yes is my real name!!!

Al Lilianstrom

Posts: 1

posted 13 years ago

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checking to see if my name pops up right. Mostly been a lurker.

al

Posts: 508

posted 13 years ago

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I read the links and still don't see the rational behind this. I have never used a fake name unless mine was not available and I dislike intensely for very valid personal reasons, announcing my real last name to the wide world. Aside from my specific reasons, identity theft is not just an urban myth. It seems strange for you to work as hard and dedicatedly (word?) as you do to build the site and then seemingly go out of your way to alienate a bunch of people for no apparent reason. It's your site so obviously you can do as you wish with it, it simply makes little sense to me. If people can use fake names then you are not much further ahead than if they use anonymous, really. It's window dressing, is all. People will be responsible or not and the names they go by have little to do with it. imo.

Scott Friesth

Posts: 3

posted 13 years ago

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Just checking. I login with something else, but does my real
Name get displayed?

jenny penny

Posts: 5

posted 13 years ago

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Just fyi, some people are legally obligated not to use their real names on the Internet by their employer. If my name doesn't suit, that's ok. I lurk more than post anyway.

Mike Dayton

Posts: 149

Location: sw pa zone 5

posted 13 years ago

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Paul, I sort of have to agree with Pam on this one. I truely do not see a benefit. I did comply because I enjoy this site. You do have the right to make any rule you like. We have the right to stay or go. I choose to comply and stay, but I did not care for the requirement and did not see the benefit to the group. Just my opinion.

PS I do enjoy the group and have learned alot here, Thanks for all your work Paul.

Never doubt that a small group of dedicated people can change the world, Indeed it is the only thing that ever has. Formerly pa_friendly_guy_here

Honora Holmes

Posts: 28

posted 13 years ago

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Was this not always in the registration info? I only registered maybe two weeks ago and when I did it specifically said I had to use my real name or a real sounding name and not admit that it was not my real name. I'm baffled why this is such a big deal if it's in fact been such a long standing policy? I guess the problem is that it's been a policy on paper but just not been enforced?

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