As you may have noticed, there are a few of us who always use our real names. Joe Offer, Art Thieme, Dick Greenhaus, Jon Freeman, Clinton Hammond, Don Meixner, Don Firth, Rick Fielding, Malcolm Douglas, are a few whose names I could find in recent threads. (Funny, they're all male. And no doubt, that's not just a coincidence.) There are quite a few who use a first name and middle initial, and these include some women - I presume these are genuine. And I suspect there are some who use a nickname, but are known by the same nickname in real life.

But more important than a real name - as far as Mudcat is concerned - is a consistent name. That's the main thing you get when you become a Mudcat "member." I wonder if most "guests" understand that. I posted for a long time as "GUEST, Jim Dixon" mainly because I didn't realize that becoming a "member" was SIMPLE AND FREE. I just didn't bother to investigate, and that was my loss.

My impression is that people will take you more seriously if they know you're a member - not that members can't be flamers, or that non-members can't be serious - but IT HELPS. And who doesn't like to be taken seriously?