I post under my real name because I couldn't be bothered to think up a net name. I couldn't see the point, other than to conform with what appeared to me to be a rather geeky custom.

There are plenty of people who know me, admittedly in a very small subset of the English folk world. I also have a responsible professional job. I don't believe I have posted anything on Mudcat or elsewhere that I would not be prepared to say in real life. I haven't been intentionally offensive to anyone (although I have engaged in some robust debates), and if I have been unintentionally offensive then I would be prepared to apologise. I don't see the need to hide my identity to protect either my musical reputation (such as it is) or my professional one.

Furthermore it seemed to me that using an oline name would not just be to disguise my real personality but to take on a different one - as is possibly demonstrated by Sean/Suibhne. Choosing a name might therefore influence, perhaps unconsciously, the online persona I took on, and should not be done lightly if I were to be able to post with integrity. I decided that an online name was not something to be adopted casually. Perhaps that's taking it all a bit too seriously, but I decided I didn't want to devote time and effort to thinking about it when I already have a name I am comfortable being known by.

To quote TS Eliot, "The naming of 'Cats is a difficult matter, it isn't just one of your holiday games."