Paul said so dammit!!! Personal information box and using our real names

  Paul just wants us to use real names.-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------         

    Everything else here is me. He hasn't authorized me to speak on his behalf 

     I took the time today to fill out the personal information section that I believe we're supposed to fill out when we sign up. This seems like a useful tool both for those who advertise their business and for anyone looking to discuss issues with a particular member.

   I think the geographical information is very handy. If someone just says I'm trying to grow artichokes it's hard to know how to respond. If you glance to the left and see that they live in Alaska then that changes everything doesn't it?

   I'm fond of posting quite lengthy articles concerning various building techniques. The little box at the bottom explains that I have quite a bit of experience at this. That information may be useful. If a professional builder responds they would naturally not hold back on technical detail since it would be understood that we both speak the language. And someone with no experience would not bother to counsel me against entering this line of work.

   Also the section I filled out with my interests make it clear that I'm interested in redeveloping certain building techniques. Early on, I met with some hostility when I suggested a mechanical device for mixing cob. Anyone reading the information box would have realized that it's pointless to try and talk me out of what will be my profession just as it would make no sense to inform a dairy farmer that milk is bad. The whole unfortunate exchange could have been avoided, there were deletions and I believe someone quit the forum.

   For this and many other reasons I think it makes sense for those in business to say so. If I know that you run a sawmill I'm more likely to ask something sensible regarding that and less likely to tell you how to operate a chain saw. By knowing the scope of another members life experience we are likely to engage in more constructive conversation while avoiding bickering.

  I seldom see unfortunate exchanges between people who use their real name and tell people where they live, what they do for a living and what their future plans are. Anonymity serves no useful purpose unless you're in the witness protection program. I know that I can't go around proposing things which are criminal and it wouldn't make sense for me to be belligerent for no reason. I will one day want to do business with many of the people on this forum for so I have an interest in not coming across as a flake.

    Real names are also more memorable. Whenever I see the names John Polk or Fred Morgan I know that something sensible is being discussed since both gentlemen are a wealth of information, they are well spoken, they don't engage in unnecessary conflict and they tend to discuss topics of substance.

    There may be members with a catchy pseudonym whose postings I would also like to follow but none of their names spring to mind since they're all a blur to me.

    In order to not set a new personal record for length of posting I will stop here.

         Thank you: Dale Hodgins

I'm a professional artist who runs a home business with my husband making artificial animals and realistic animal costumes for the entertainment industry (movies, TV, live shows).  Not very relevant to these forums, probably.   

Agreed. But if someone in central Texas finds out about 1000 lb. of cotton stuffing or a mile of silk fabric that's being offered for free, they might think to tell you about it.  We have members all over and this could work for many.  If there's a really good building in my area slated for demolition, I want to know about that.Who knows,the forum could enlarge my network in that regard.                           

    I guess I was referring more to those of us in farming,building,recycling,forestry etc. and teaching of the various skills discussed on the forums.

Who knows, you might need a mascot at your tour farm.  We often work with folks in Canada. 

   At some point I'll want to dress up the bus in some sort of memorable attire . Going in the Christmas parade and other parades is a great way to promote.

    Since the bus is primarily for camping, I might go with a giant backpack attached to the rear and a giant sun hat attached to the roof. Maybe some sunglasses .It would all need to be road worthy and not obstruct my view.

    For the farm I'm more likely to go with a chainsaw carving or some awful thing I've build out of rocks. I've always wanted a castle. I share a driveway with a neighbor. If he's good with it I may go with a Norman castle look but without the drawbridge. Right now there's just a giant rock with brass address numbers inserted.

   We don't often go for those giant fiberglass mascots characters around here. I remember traveling through the northern states in 74 when I was 10. We saw Paul Bunyan, a Viking and other town mascots which civic boosters had decided would put their town on the map. Anything of this nature would need to have multiple uses.

I hear stuffed politicians are in fashion this year?

By mascot I meant a costume. 



(eats politicians)

H Ludi Tyler wrote:I'm a professional artist who runs a home business with my husband...

See, now for some reason I thought you were a guy (not that it matters, of course) - perhaps because you're from Texas, I just assumed the 'H' stood for Hank or something  ops:

I am assuming now that you're, in fact, not a guy; Texas doesn't seem like a place where gay marriage would get much traction.

Wow sorry for the off topic but that is one damn nice costume! No wonder you work in the entertainment industry that is one hell of a hero bear!

years ago i went into an employment office to make use
of the job boards the state has on their computers ok...

so i sellected several i was interested in having recently moved to the town
my name was called and i went to sit with the screener guy...or counselor....

he already had this DIRTY look on his face  ...as in  your soooo busted  DUDE
and started acusing me of stealing this girls social security number in Boston....

i  said  Look man  that is "MY SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER" and always has been
and this F-ing BITCH (pardon me ladies) as stolen it from me.....

he scoffs  at that admission as if he's heard it all before
i  said to him  go look it up  ...as he's then ready to call the cops
posturing as if not wanting me to  escape his wild justice program
like i'm some sort of outlaw

later he comes back all apologetic and stuff...
and of course he wouldn't reveal the persons name
saying  don't worry...we'll handle it...

so i will not compromise...ever  as identity theft is the most rampant crime there is

You can be "Tony Van Curer" which is an anagram of "countryraven" 

PS Thanks, Aaron!

interesting but hardly Scottish sounding.... 

i do spend most of my time curing....  too

I can get on the site just fine but also tried the lost password function. It accepted my login name as criteria for sending the lost password but I didn't receive anything in my email. But the confirmation screen didn't say where the email was going to so I can't be sure it actualy went

It is whatever email is in your account right now. 

Did you check your spam folder?

Yes I did check my spam, I also tried entering my email address instead of the login and again it said it sent something off but Im not receiving anything on my end. .....hrm

Is there anything else I can do to help debug this, I notice some people have been successful in the "test test test" thread. I didn't taint the system with my canadian IP address did I? maybe theres a misspelling of the word colour vs color at my internet provider that's doing all the damage

Dale Hodgins wrote:  Paul just wants us to use real names.-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------         


  I seldom see unfortunate exchanges between people who use their real name and tell people where they live, what they do for a living and what their future plans are. Anonymity serves no useful purpose unless you're in the witness protection program. I know that I can't go around proposing things which are criminal and it wouldn't make sense for me to be belligerent for no reason. I will one day want to do business with many of the people on this forum for so I have an interest in not coming across as a flake.

    Real names are also more memorable. Whenever I see the names John Polk or Fred Morgan I know that something sensible is being discussed since both gentlemen are a wealth of information, they are well spoken, they don't engage in unnecessary conflict and they tend to discuss topics of substance.

I would love to be in the "cool" club and be able to use my real name, but I cannot. I have an internet stalker with friends...called my husbands ex-wife. I have had to shut down numerous things already because of her and her friends and I kind of would like to stay on Permies and meet like minded people. I am sorry if not using my real name is both offensive and ignored, but really, for my families protection, it is necessary.

I just wanted to add my two cents as you never know someone else's personal reasons.

There are thousands of David Galloways out there, most of them more notable than I, so I don't generally see the point in trying to obscure my identity online. Hell, I went to high school with two other David Galloways and there is another now in my company of ~300 people. If you Google the name you get 15 million results.

That said, I do take care to use very strong completely random passwords and do my best to keep my SSN, birthdate, and any other information that can be used to steal my identity off the net.

SW Eden, that sounds like hell, and I'm sorry you have to go through that.

SW Eden wrote:

I would love to be in the "cool" club and be able to use my real name, but I cannot. I have an internet stalker with friends...

This may be the 15th time this has been mentioned ....

Rather than having a name this is an obvious pseudonym, I encourage people to use names that sound real, like "Emily McDaniel". So you have all the protection that you seek, plus we have all of what we seek. Perhaps you could create a name that is an homage to one or two people you really like.

When the dust settles (a coupla weeks?), I will begin cracking down on names that are obviously fictitious.

Dave, you crack me up.... Do you know how many "John Wheeler"s are out there? I counted 13 entries in Wikipedia! At one point I actually was on the first page of Google results with my CompuServe homepage, but that is long gone. But if you find something by "jdwheeler42", it's probably me -- so far that ID hasn't been worth stealing.

John Wheeler wrote:Dave, you crack me up.... Do you know how many "John Wheeler"s are out there? I counted 13 entries in Wikipedia! At one point I actually was on the first page of Google results with my CompuServe homepage, but that is long gone. But if you find something by "jdwheeler42", it's probably me -- so far that ID hasn't been worth stealing.

The funny thing is that on Twitter when both @dgalloway and @davidgalloway were both taken I went with @dgalloway42. Great minds think alike (or at least read Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy).

Whoops, is my towel showing, Dave?

I've been debating on whether I should post in this thread or not, but I've decided I have little to lose.

I've been using 'homesteadpaul' on the net since before web browsers were invented. If you google "homesteadpaul" and get it to realize that, yes, you really do want it as one word, you will get over 7000 hits. It is now more my 'real' name than the one on any official ID. I realize this is Mr Wheaton's sandbox and he gets to make the rules, but I do resent being told I cannot post here under my chosen and most commonly used name. So, it looks like I'll probably stop posting. I doubt if anybody here misses me, but I do hope my posts here have been useful.

You might try contacting someone and see if you could post as Homestead Paul Smith or whatever your last name is. Lots of people have names which they adopted but are now in common use. I don't think they would turn Dizzy Gillespie or Hulk Hogan away and Bob Dylan would probably be welcome here as well. This doesn't seem like something to quit over.

Your signature could be "homesteadpaul"

paul homestead wrote: So, it looks like I'll probably stop posting. I doubt if anybody here misses me, but I do hope my posts here have been useful.

His last posting was in March. Just thought I'd check, since I've been wondering how common it is for people to get worked up over such issues.

I wonder, does the machinery track things like this to predict trends?

On another note, I was thinking that there could be a "phone book " of sorts that gives a brief description posted by each member complete with whatever they wish to share. Under the name could be something like "New", "Regular Visitor", "Occasional Visitor", "Regular Contributor", Occasional Contributor" or "Dormant" which discribes the member's activity level.