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Poll: Do you use your real identity on HN?

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81–90 of 307 posts

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

#81

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…

coincidentally Saint[z-zone] was one of the more memorable Zerg players in professional Starcraft:Broodwar. It's a nice ID :)

http://wiki.teamliquid.net/starcraft/Saint

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

#84

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…

This indeed - I'm not always the best or least inflammatory, but I own what I say and want to have that reflect on me.

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

#85
No.

Knowing what I know now from a year's worth of participation I wouldn't mind posting under my real identity on many topics.

However, I would have to censor myself often. I don't think I say much that's particularly controversial, just that I work for people who I've regularly witnessed stalking the online habits of coworkers.

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

#87
Honestly? I have multiple accounts. This one is in my real name, but I also post pseudonymously. I do the same on pretty much every web forum I post on.

This is partly for historical reasons: in almost all cases, I had a pseudonymous account first. However, it’s also partly for flexibility. For example, if I’m giving a personal recommendation or criticism, then I always prefer to put my name to it. On the other hand, I am very conscious of privacy concerns and very careful not to give away anything I shouldn’t about other people or businesses. Posting with a pseudonym means I can still contribute controversial viewpoints or relevant information to some discussions that I wouldn’t be comfortable leaving on the public record.

For the record, I make no secret of having multiple accounts for any affected site admins, who in general could trivially identify any pseudonyms I use with a quick search of private e-mail addresses if they wanted to. Also, my pseudonymous accounts tend to have feedback via votes/moderations as favourable as my “real” accounts or even a little more so, and I never abuse multiple accounts by voting in ways I otherwise couldn’t. I’d stop if anyone running a forum asked me to, but that would be disappointing as I’m careful not to abuse the privilege and I think I can make more interesting/valuable contributions as things are.

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

#88
There seems to have been a massive shift toward using real identities for social websites (possibly because of the example set by sites like Facebook).

It's interesting, considering that (at least to my limited knowledge on this subject) pseudonyms were much more common about five or ten years ago.

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

#89
No, I don't want to prejudice potential clients, employers or customers. And it's so easy for that to happen. When I used to have my email in my profile I had two people threaten my business over some silly technical argument.
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