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Poll: Do you use your real identity on HN?

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191–200 of 307 posts

Re: Poll: Do you use your real identity on HN?

#191

Post by kevinalexbrown »

While I post under my real name for all the obvious reasons, namely to minimize how many stupid or mean things I say, I very often wish I did not. There's something lost when speaking for the world to hear: how many things will I say that might make me look less than awesome? (har har, I'm sure you could dig up a few). So I tend to go for the conservative point instead of the crazy idea that might be totally off the mark. It's not about "speaking truth to power" so much as speaking the truth about yourself.

It's hard to put it better than Adam Kirsch, albeit in a different context:

The essayist is concerned, as a fiction writer is not, with what the reader will think of him or her. That is why the new comic essayists are never truly confessional, and never intentionally reveal anything that might jeopardize the reader’s esteem.

Re: Poll: Do you use your real identity on HN?

#193

Post by Mz »

kevinalexbrown wrote: post #191

While I post under my real name for all the obvious reasons, namely to minimize how many stupid or mean things I say, I very often wish I did not. There's something lost when speaking for the world to hear: how many things will I say that might make me look less than awesome? (har har, I'm sure you could dig up a few). So I tend to go for the conservative point instead of the crazy idea that might be totally off the…

That is not just a function of using your name. I used to use my full name online and said whatever I felt like. I was a homemaker at the time. I didn't worry what an employer would think or whatever.

There is more backstory than that, but I became more careful when I worked for BigCo and more free again after I left that job. Lifestyle impacts such choices, not just attaching your name.

Re: Poll: Do you use your real identity on HN?

#195

Post by olivier1664 »

kamjam wrote: post #93
flatline wrote: post #25

For some reason I'm extremely hesitant to post things under my real name. I don't really care if people know my name on an individual basis (and it's not like I'm a high profile poster anyway), but I am squeamish about it generally, and feel too self-conscious to post anything if my name is associated directly with it. I've tried blogging under my real name and always went back and deleted everything, it caused me to…

Not too this level, but i use a pseudonym here. I don't generally post inflammatory stuff but I do like a good debate. But I use my real name on twitter and am very careful about what I post. I use my real name on Facebook, but I am not so worried about what I post, it's to a closed audience so i can vent and be negative without being looked down on. In this day and age of Google, you're just a click away and a whole…

Yeah, me too: the alias is a protection against a simple google research.

Re: Poll: Do you use your real identity on HN?

#196

Post by rbijou »

Yes. Despite the niche I work in (threat intelligence), I've become increasingly transparent with public emails and real identities on HN as rbijou, writing my thoughts at rbijou.com, etc.

If I've learned anything, it's that sincerity and 'faith' are increasingly important commodities on the web. One only needs to take a look at Youtube comments to see the opposite side of the spectrum..

Re: Poll: Do you use your real identity on HN?

#197

Post by shortstuffsushi »

cowpewter wrote: post #133

I voted yes. My name is not actually in my profile, but I've used the same username everywhere since the early 90s, and the briefest of searches would pull up my real name pretty damned fast.

Same -- I have used shortstuffsushi for every account since 5th grade, to set up my first AIM account (boy, that feels like forever ago). People who know me in real life are able to identify me by that handle, so if I use it, it's really no different than my real name (aside from being unique to every site I've ever visited...).

Re: Poll: Do you use your real identity on HN?

#199

Post by billpaetzke »

simonsarris wrote: post #70

Yes, and for almost[1] all other things on the internet for that matter. "We should try to be happy, if only to set an example." -Jacques Prévert I try to be as open and plainly honest as possible, and I think using my real name keeps me from being inflammatory, and I think it also keeps other from doing the same to me (at least a little). Put another way, I think using real names makes an atmosphere of more empathy…

Totally agree with you.

Though I keep my Facebook visible to friends only because I don't want anything Facebook related ranking high on a personal name google search. I use twitter or blogs as the public facing searchable content tied to my name.

Re: Poll: Do you use your real identity on HN?

#200

Post by MichaelGG »

quackerhacker wrote: post #86

Even though I use my handle "quackerhacker," the secret service already knows my identity, so in the words of Mark Zuckerburg "privacy is dead." -at least mine is This is me on Wired.com: http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2008/05/man-allegedly-b/

That's awesome. It amazes me that there was no check for the same IP/account number combination over and over.

The FBI site says: "he would transfer the funds into his own bank accounts or onto prepaid debit cards, without the authorization or knowledge of his victims"

How the hell was that allowed as a valid argument? Of course you can transfer money out of an account - they sent it there. Did they have any sort of "hey, we're just giving this $0.89 temporarily" kind of language? If not, they're the ones that authorized the transfer.

They happily sent thousands of deposits out. Seems like their fault. Might as well go after people that keep swinging by the free samples at Costco.

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