please use first name, a space, and last name

How did you do it? I can't seem to figure it out. I have to retrieve my password first which I also can't seem to figure out. Sigh. I am not very technical.

You might need to ask a moderator to help you retrieve your password. 

You cannot steal someones identity with their name and general interest. You need things like bank account numbers and social security numbers,or even addresses and phone numbers. It would be easier to steal an identity out of a phone book then it would off of a forum.

Storm V Spooner wrote:
Given the state of affairs, it is incredibly foolish to use one's real name on public forums.

I'm a wildly foolish person!  

Ludi.. I'd not know and I'd certainly not make that claim about you myself!

Well that's very nice of you. 

The point about angry people is I think the more valid of the two concerns. Name and city as I discussed is something that you can get from a phone book.  If this forum were run differently, and a topic less benign than permaculture were discussed, there might be a concern of things escalating to that level, but honestly I think I'm far more concerned about those things being done by local people who do not know my name rather than people spread over the world who do.

I have mentioned this before and will do so again here. I have a friend who had a cyber stalker that was able to "find" her online and via that information at her actual physical location MORE THAN ONCE over the course of several years. She is tech-savvy (in a way that I am not) and was careful etc etc. But still.
Very scary that. Very scary indeed. To this day she won't use any version of her real name anywhere online.
Having a crazy stalker ex of my own I am hesitant to use my full real name online as well. So, you know, to all the fellas here, please be sensitive to this issue, okey dokey? It's perhaps a bit more frightening of a reality for a woman if you know what I mean.
I'm willing to go with an abbreviated version of my name but I just can't figure it out.

to make Paul's life a little easier I spent five minutes setting up an illustrated walk through on how to change you display name.

https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0B2oraBVKnm1cYmZkMGYzNjAtMmM1ZS00MTY1LWEwY2YtZTg2Y2MzYTRmYzM5&hl=en&authkey=CMzk1-0C

I hope that it helps someone.


Crafty: may I suggest you pick a name that is not yours but looks like a real name if using your own would make you nervous?

Awesome screen shots, Brice, thanks! 

How do I find my password though? Sorry to be stupid about computers but I am.

Crafty - if you log out, then go to log in again, you'll see a little note in blue at the bottom of the screen saying 'Forgot your password?'  If you click on that, it will send you to a screen where you can enter either your email address or your username, and then a new password will be emailed to you.

Don't forget to either keep a copy of your new password somewhere you can find it again, or change it to something you can remember. 

Hey, thanks! That worked great. 

You guys can call me Joy if you like.

As silly as it sounds, this makes me really happy.

paul wheaton wrote:
As silly as it sounds, this makes me really happy.

Well, if that makes you happy Paul, then you can call me Joy too. 

gary gregory wrote:
Well, if that makes you happy Paul, then you can call me Joy too. 

Awesome

Jocelyn Campbell wrote:
Awesome screen shots, Brice, thanks!   

Thankya I got pretty good at that sort of procedure writing back in the navy when I got sick of being woken up cause officers couldn't read the manuals for the archaic Unix/terminal based supply and maintenance software

Brand new here. Just tried to change my display name, but it wouldn't stick. Logged out then in to make sure I had my brand-spanking-new password right. Still no change. Double checked on the pdf of screen shots, and I followed the procedure as shown.
So, I guess I'll sign my name here.
Gani et se

Just checking the bases
you have to type in the name you want us to see in the name box
your password in the bottom box
then click on the button beside the password box labeled "change profile"

Hi Brice,
Yep. Just tried again to make quintuply sure that I followed the steps.
Now doing the process again as I type each line.
Change display name from eseating to gani et se -- check
enter correct password -- check
press "Change Profile" button -- check
page blinks as if reloading, the display name shows "gani et se"
go to a different page -- chose the Summary page this time
return to the Account Settings Page -- using the link, not the back button.
Display name is back to eseating.
Perhaps the system doesn't like my odd name?

Let me know if you can see anything I'm doing wrong here. I'm baffled. Are there logs that could be reviewed to see if there is any indication I'm doing something wrong? FWIW -- Mac OS X Snow Leopard using Firefox 4.

Thanks again,
Gani

right now I see your name as "gani et se" so it seems you've been successful

maybe some weird kinda buffer error on your machine? or did you find something I missed in the instructions I wrote?

At looked at that post this morning and it was showing the old name of eseating then, so I think maybe there's some kind of buffer in the system.   

nope, no buffer.... just me. 

no idea what the issue was; it worked first time i changed it

I thank you for correcting that for me. Now I feel more able to politely post.

stumbled across this thread...changed my monicker to my name.  i mainly go by my last name in real life anyway.

Okay, it's this or my public persona which is a title and first name or Santa Peter.  I do not use my last name beyond initial anywhere outside of face to face business. The reason is I am somewhat a local celebrity and I do my best not to let folks know too much about the "real" me although for the most part the public persona and me are one in the same (if you look the look you got to walk the walk). As you can understand if the public persona got tangled up with the real me I know some nut would be at my door just to see where the persona lived. I have had this happen in reverse with someone following me for a couple miles to the hardware store just to let their child say hi. If anyone has a problem with it I can simply leave the forum and find another. 

Peter K. wrote:
Okay, it's this or my public persona which is a title and first name or Santa Peter.  I do not use my last name beyond initial anywhere outside of face to face business. The reason is I am somewhat a local celebrity and I do my best not to let folks know too much about the "real" me although for the most part the public persona and me are one in the same (if you look the look you got to walk the walk). As you can understand if the public persona got tangled up with the real me I know some nut would be at my door just to see where the persona lived. I have had this happen in reverse with someone following me for a couple miles to the hardware store just to let their child say hi. If anyone has a problem with it I can simply leave the forum and find another. 

And I always thought it was Claus with a C not Klaus with a K...

LOL If you look at names and spelling there are many varrious acceptable names and spelling depending on language and country of origin

I used to live in San Pedro.

¿Eres tú?

So nice to see so many names and meet people from around the world on permies. How cool is that?!   

It would be lovely if a bunch of permies somehow gently ask others to do the same. Maybe a link to this thread while conversing on a topic? Maybe quoting Paul's opening post for this thread?

Also, some users have added their location by
- clicking the profile button (near the top right of each screen),
- clicking "forum profile information" (in the left menu)
- typing location info in the "personal text" field
- click "change profile" button at bottom to save.

I too am not comfortable using my real name.  Not only have I been 'stalked' at home by people who found me on the internet but I have witnessed some really silly stuff at work.  People (who apparently have no life) sit around looking up thier coworkers on the internet and trying to trip them up on the job.  I'm talking about really silly stuff here - these people weren't doing or saying anything wrong yet they had to defend themselves against co-workers.

My daughter has already run into problems using her real name despite my constant warnings to use an alias - yet she persists. 

This forum seems to be filled with a lot of people that I would probably really like to meet in person - but there are many more evil trolls out there that I would like to keep away from.  P.S, If I send someone a private e-mail I do always give my name - seems the courtious  thing to do.

South Carolina wrote:
I too am not comfortable using my real name. 

You could use another name that is still a first name, last name. It just seems more personable to call someone Bill, Sue, Bob or Sally (etc.).

Done, in a way this makes me more annomous since more people know me by my forum name than by my given name.

Welcome, R.! 

I can understand what others are saying about the internet and names.I have had my ex years ago when he was a being a turd.Take over my identity online .This included several groups I owned and moderated.He followed me around online harassing  friends for a year that way.It was not pretty...Glad he grew up..

On this site we go by the Happy House, which is what our homes name is.
  We do not hide behind it.Both James and I post this way we use the one account and it is comfortable for us.We typically both try and remember to sign our names.
However in our area we have the Alan Westerman Memorial gardens Aka The  Happy House Teaching Gardens. Which we teach alternative gardening as well as grief therapy gardening out of at no charge.The Happy house itself is the name which Worlds Greenest Homes dubbed us on their show which just stuck with everyone..
  W have also had no problem sharing the link to our photo album but also the magazine article written about our home for those looking at green roof structures.Not only are our names there but so are pictures of us.
  In our case we are going to keep our name as is..Because it is how people know us not only on line but also in person..

Hugs,Laughter,Light,Love
  James and Mary
Alan Westerman Memorial gardens
aka
The Happy House teaching Gardens

In a few weeks we will transition into a space where this form of naming will move from a request to a requirement.

This has worked super excellent on JavaRanch.  And I expect it will work well here too.

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

And if you like to read about people hating the policy, here is gobs of discussion here:  http://www.coderanch.com/t/421659/Ranch-Office/Discussion-Naming-Policy

LOL, oh sure Paul..Does this mean we will need to open 2 accounts then  since we both post under the same easy name which is our home and gardens name?  as we explained. Or can we become James Mary or Mary James???

Really as far as the names go it is no big deal for us.. not protesting or refusing,, because we do sign all our e-mails anyhow..In the groups I have ran through the years almost everyone used their names, farm name or garden name.It always made for a closer knit groups.We all know each other on the first name basis..
  Which is why we use our home and garden name as well as signing James or Mary sometimes both if we happen to be sitting together answering.

Thanks
Mary

I think two accounts would be good.  But it is really up to you.  If you want both of you to post under "Mary James", that's fine, as long as you don't ever reveal it is really two different people using one account.  Or that it is a fake name. 

Cool thanks for the input.
  I will talk to James and see  what he would like to do.The not revealing we are two different people would be hard since we do sign posts, sometimes together,, On the other hand he is less likely to come in if he has to remember a separate account..He is used to your forever sign in...LOL
Thanks Paul, appreciate your time
Mary

My name was already my last name plus initials, but I'm changing it to my first name plus last initial. Seems more bare faced, somehow, even though most the time I tend to skim over user names. As far as privacy goes, well, I do have a facebook...