Mudcat name

Subject: Mudcat name
From: Ron Cheevers
Date: 19 Jun 12 - 06:01 PM

Why do people need to have a Mudcat name? What's wrong with a given name?

Subject: RE: Mudcat name
From: Commander Crabbe
Date: 19 Jun 12 - 06:09 PM

Ron

I don't think you need to have a Mudcat name it's just that some people choose to. Mine was a nickname given to me by Derek Elliot who ran the singaround in the old "Tap and Spile" in Whitby. So therefore those who were there know who I am. Anyone else who wants to know what my real name is, they can ask. If I think they need to know it then I'll let them know. Otherwise I'll stick to my nickname. If you really want to know, it is in a couple of my posted threads if you care to search.

CC

Subject: RE: Mudcat name
From: Joe Offer
Date: 19 Jun 12 - 06:12 PM

Well, I've used my own name at Mudcat for over 15 years. In general, it's fine - but there are drawbacks. If you're worried, it's better to use a pseudonym - but please use a consistent pseudonym when posting at Mudcat.

-Joe Offer, Mudcat Archivist-

Subject: RE: Mudcat name
From: Ron Cheevers
Date: 19 Jun 12 - 06:14 PM

Thanks Joe.

Subject: RE: Mudcat name
From: Leadfingers
Date: 19 Jun 12 - 06:27 PM

I 'Stole' Fred Wedlock's 'The Folker' forty years ago , and used it as my Intro Song when I was Gigging , so I was Terry 'Leadfingers' Silver . (From MY First line) a LONG time efore I joined Mudcat !

Subject: RE: Mudcat name
From: skarpi
Date: 19 Jun 12 - 06:39 PM

and I use my name its Skarpi , I use Iceland as second name ....
but my name is Skarphéðinn Haraldsson .....aka Úlflogi Álfsson ...

:) all the best Skarpi Iceland .

Subject: RE: Mudcat name
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 19 Jun 12 - 07:12 PM

My name is Steve Shaw. It's the only name I use on any website. If I say something stupid I want people to know that Steve Shaw said something stupid. It doesn't stop me from saying stupid things but it does rein me in a bit. I've been guilty of abusing fellow posters on some websites at times, always out of frustation (I should learn to control my instincts better). They all know that it was Steve Shaw who abused them. On the other hand, I've been abused by many people who post under pseudonyms. I could name quite a few who do it on this site. They are cowards. There's one website, not this one, on which another poster, under his pseudonym, went for me big time, gratuitously accusing me of all sorts of scurrilous things. I found out his name and found that he'd posted a rather unflattering photo of himself online (the eejit!). He was well pissed off when I posted his name and pic. He didn't realise that Google didn't index the site we were on, so his name and pic would not be found by anyone else looking casually, but it didn't half put the shits up him. I hate internet anonymity. I've spent ten years being quite controversial on discussion forums but I've never had any offline issues as a result, so I don't quite know what Joe's drawbacks are all about.

Subject: RE: Mudcat name
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 19 Jun 12 - 07:13 PM

frustration innit

Subject: RE: Mudcat name
From: kendall
Date: 19 Jun 12 - 07:43 PM

I think it's always a good idea for women to use a made up name. That goes for all social sites.

Subject: RE: Mudcat name
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 19 Jun 12 - 08:00 PM

There's no problem with using your real name if that's how you choose to be known here - and if no one else has already used it as a mudcat name.

In earlier times, you needed a separate email address to register each name, so couples often shared the same mudcat name. I understand that it's no longer required; but I haven't looked at the details since nearly all email services now allow "subaccounts" and there are lots of free email accounts available.

In my case, using my real name could be problematic, since (according to the web) there are at least 268,438 persons in the US (as of a few months ago when I checked) using the same name. For my mudcat name, I've only found a little more than a half-dozen (all elsewhere), so the mudcat name is a more specific ID than my real one. Although none of us have much control over who else might choose to use the same name as ours, mudcat - I believe - still allows only one user per mudcat moniker. (And there has been at least one other here with the same "real name" as mine - already in use here when I got my own mudcat ID.)

John

Subject: RE: Mudcat name
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 19 Jun 12 - 08:00 PM

Dunno about all those facebooky things and tweets and twits and blogs and all that. I don't do any of 'em. I suppose you could be right.

Subject: RE: Mudcat name
From: Janie
Date: 19 Jun 12 - 08:33 PM

The name I go by in the 3-D world is Janie. I don't use my last name because I need to keep my professional and personal life separate. I also have privacy concerns. Perhaps those concerns are unrealistic or perhaps they are naive. I'm not highly imaginative. I don't have alternate egos. I don't do a lot of social networking.

I do think, depending on one's profession or privacy concerns that people often have good reasons for using pseudonyms on-line and I don't have a problem with it. I also understand that some people also hide behind pseudonyms to engage in behaviors or say things for which they do not want to take responsibility.

Simply the nature of some humans. In my opinion, there is no inherent merit in either using a pseudonym or in using one's own name.

Subject: RE: Mudcat name
From: Seamus Kennedy
Date: 19 Jun 12 - 08:38 PM

I can't remember my real name, so I use this one...

Subject: RE: Mudcat name
From: GUEST,punkfolkrocker
Date: 19 Jun 12 - 09:08 PM

No matter how wonderful and unique my doting old mum constantly tells me I am,
the name she gave me is not that special or rare;
in fact for some bizarre reason, it seems to be a very common name in the music business...

particularly in the respectable world of classical musicians, movie score production, and Jazz, Blues & Roots....

Should any of those serious hard working artists really be tarnished by association
with the frivolous cidered up shite I often write here...????


..and I do gleefully & mischievously subscribe to the creative potential
of multiple artistic personae and secret nom de plumes..

I'm a child of the 60's & a teen of the 70s,
I enjoy entertainers who surprise their audience,
restlessly shedding old worn skins to reinvent their stage image & identity bold and new..

Subject: RE: Mudcat name
From: ChanteyLass
Date: 19 Jun 12 - 11:14 PM

I decided not to use my real name for privacy reasons. For my first several months on Mudcat I was GUEST Janet. When I felt more comfortable, I chose the name ChanteyLass because it connects me to one of my favorite subgenres of music. However, I was still wary about identifying myself to others. That's probably because I read a lot of mysteries and have developed a suspicious nature. Now, though, several people know my real name which tells them less about me than the name ChanteyLass does! And a funny thing is that people I've introduced myself to--Live! In Person!--have forgotten who I am! Because I am only an audience member, I am not very memorable. If I were a performer or promoter, I would use my real name to promote myself.

Subject: RE: Mudcat name
From: Bugsy
Date: 20 Jun 12 - 12:29 AM

I go by "Bugsy" because if people knew who I Really am they wouldn't talk to me.

Mostly they don't anyway :0)

CHeers

Bugsy

Subject: RE: Mudcat name
From: doc.tom
Date: 20 Jun 12 - 02:45 AM

I was given mine by Peter Stark when I got my PhD - "so now you're a Doc Tom, instead of a Dot Com".
Cheers
Tom

Subject: RE: Mudcat name
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 20 Jun 12 - 03:08 AM

I used this name cos I used to work in a Govt agency & when I called colleagues interstate I always identified myself as sandra in sydney.

In the real world, I would normally introduce myself with my first name, only using my surname when needed.

Subject: RE: Mudcat name
From: GUEST,Suibhne Astray
Date: 20 Jun 12 - 03:57 AM

That reminds me, it's been too long since I changed my Mudcat name...

Subject: RE: Mudcat name
From: Eric the Viking
Date: 20 Jun 12 - 04:06 AM

I've been called this for forty years, long before mudcat.(And before the book or the film or the film of the book or the book of the film of the film of the book)

Subject: RE: Mudcat name
From: GUEST,Eliza
Date: 20 Jun 12 - 04:14 AM

I chose this name because we live in a tiny village, and it would I imagine be quite easy to identify me, especially since my surname is a bit exotic. While nearly everyone on Mudcat is lovely, friendly and pleasant, there are one or two quite angry and aggressive trolls, and I wouldn't want them paying us a visit some dark night! ('Eliza Doolittle' is what my mum called me if I was being lazy and not helping her in the house!)

Subject: RE: Mudcat name
From: bill\sables
Date: 20 Jun 12 - 04:44 AM

I wanted to use my real name, Bill Sables but it would not let me, It said it was being used already and so I had to use bill\sables.

Subject: RE: Mudcat name
From: GUEST,Suibhne Astray
Date: 20 Jun 12 - 05:35 AM

My only negative experience of meeting a fellow Mudcatter face-to-face was after I'd been singing, chatting & drinking with this bloke for a few hours at a festival and then the talk turns to Mudcat. He asked what name I posted under, and when I told him he stared in horror, made his excuses and left. Very odd. Before that we were set for lifelong brotherhood. I occasionally get the you're-nothing-like-your-online-persona (what on-line persona?) but mostly, and happily, meeting & knowing 'Catters in the real world is always a positive & uplifting experience. And I know a fair few, many of them counted as very dear friends. Hell, even the most gloomy & notorious 'trolls' on line turn out to be most sunshiney folks in the flesh.

Still, you can't win 'em all; so whatever name you go by, be true to yourself & when it comes to others, as Kipling wrote, and Bellamy sang: The people, Lord, thy people, are good enough for me...

*

Soon as I can get to a proper computer to change my biscuit my new Mudcat name will be Jack Blandifer. Apologies in advance for any confusion this might cause (as if), just as I was sitting the other day watching old Jack kicking his bells I thought, now there's a man I can truly relate to. He's folksy (like me), fun (like me), historically painted (which I am on occasion), medieval (unike me, though I have occasional inclinations in that direction) and a kinetic percussionist with temporal leanings and a fondness for sounding antique idiophones in anciently resonant ambient spaces (like me). I'll still be keeping the same account though...

As Flann O'Brien says, in the common law a person may go by any name they so choose. For the record, my real name is Sean Breadin and my musical name is Sedayne. If ever we do meet, call me Sean - though ever since I was 5 I always wanted to be called Jack, like my old Granda... Actually, I was, briefly, by the kids at a youthclub I used to tell stories at. Felt great, but it never caught on. Maybe the time has come, eh??

Subject: RE: Mudcat name
From: MGM·Lion
Date: 20 Jun 12 - 06:01 AM

Well, Sean & Jack are both variants of John, so in a way the same name. And have you ever noticed that the Spanish form of the name, Juan, if written in late-medvl or early-modern lettering when i=j & u=v, will come out as Ivan? Which almost forms part of the Italian version, Giovanni?

~Miguel~Michel~מיכאל~Mikhail~

Subject: RE: Mudcat name
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 20 Jun 12 - 06:29 AM

It's been posted here a couple of times, but the site at Howmanyofme.com claims to tell you how many in the US have the same first name, how many have the same last name, and how many have both names the same as the one you enter.

Previous discussions have disputed the accuracy of the reports given by the site, but it's probably close enough for settling small bar bets(?).

There are separate sites for How Many of Me Facebook, and I think I saw one specific for Ireland. There probably are additional ones for other countries (and other affiliations) but I only looked at the Google result far enough to get to the generic one for the US. Searching for "How Many of Me" should get as many deviant sites as you'd be likely to want.

I found that the number of USians with my first name has increased by quite a bit, the number with my last name has decreased slightly, and the number with both names together has decreased rather dramatically, since my last look. (Somebody in the family got pissed with the great great great great great grandfather who had the name combination? - which isn't too surprising, ... or maybe it's because of the couple of mass serial killers with both names.)

John

Subject: RE: Mudcat name
From: Jack Blandiver
Date: 20 Jun 12 - 06:42 AM

Jack is the universal fool of the Indo-European Folk Tale, though his name is apt to change. Remember that creaky old TV series Storybook International? In Russia I am Ivan, in Sweden I am Jan, in Germany I'm Johann, in America I'm John...

Here's the song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rs3X90RLW3A

Looking up the John names on Wiki is interesting...

Subject: RE: Mudcat name
From: Susan of DT
Date: 20 Jun 12 - 07:06 AM

When I first got online, a month or two after the Digital Tradition joined Mudcat and Max developed the site with postings, I went into an interesting thread and found four other Susan's there already. I decided that "Susan of DT" conveyed better identity information than my full name. Of course this lead to such interesting things as my being listed twice on the Living Ballad Singers thread - once by name and once by Mudcat name.

Subject: RE: Mudcat name
From: Bettynh
Date: 20 Jun 12 - 07:37 AM

I chose this name 20 years ago (yikes!) when it became obvious that my first choice, which contained part of my surname, left me vulnerable to stupid sexual jokes (this was AOL, home of the snert*). Since I spent lots of time in garden chat and bulletin boards, using my state of origin was easy and logical. I think we had to limit ourselves to 8 letters at the time.

*snert: acronym for "snot-nosed egotistical repugnant teen."

Subject: RE: Mudcat name
From: Rain Dog
Date: 20 Jun 12 - 08:46 AM

On some boards/groups I use my given name and on others I don't. Just depends on my mood at the time when I sign up.

I have met up with people from other groups/lists from time to time. It can be fun at hotel reception asking if someone has checked in and you only know their nickname.

Subject: RE: Mudcat name
From: beardedbruce
Date: 20 Jun 12 - 09:02 AM

re: howmanyofme.com


"There are 1 or fewer people with my name in the U.S.A."

...

Subject: RE: Mudcat name
From: EBarnacle
Date: 20 Jun 12 - 09:03 AM

Thanks, John, 684 with my name. When I signed on originally, I felt a pseudonym was a good way to go. Many of the people on this site know my actual name anyway.

Subject: RE: Mudcat name
From: Becca72
Date: 20 Jun 12 - 09:28 AM

There are 103 people with my name. Strangly enough, there are 2 of us at the same doctor's office...

I use a nickname on Mudcat (and almost every other site I frequent) for privacy reasons. Even if you trust every single member here at the Cat, the internet is not private. Anyone with knowledge of Google can find posts made here.

Subject: RE: Mudcat name
From: Snuffy
Date: 20 Jun 12 - 09:37 AM

Like Tigger, I appear to be the only one: 192.com has found 4 people in the UK with my name - but they are all me!!!

Subject: RE: Mudcat name
From: Highlandman
Date: 20 Jun 12 - 10:17 AM

I picked this nickname back in the early AOL days, when the conventional wisdom was to always obscure one's real identity. It became a habit I have never bothered to break. I sign most of my posts with my given name as a nod to today's less anonymous community norms. But putting out my full name is more than I can force myself to do. Like writing in books or pulling a push broom, it's just been inculcated into me as something one doesn't do.
-Glenn

Subject: RE: Mudcat name
From: Amos
Date: 20 Jun 12 - 12:37 PM

I'm actually Amos. It's my name so I use it here.

In real life I sometimes use pseudonyms such as "Christian Mingle" and "Chuwanna Dewe", depending on whom I wish to impress.   ;>D


A

Subject: RE: Mudcat name
From: Phil Cooper
Date: 20 Jun 12 - 03:22 PM

I go by my own name, on the theory that I wouldn't post a comment that I wouldn't own up to.

Subject: RE: Mudcat name
From: Continuity Jones
Date: 20 Jun 12 - 06:01 PM

Continuity Jones is an anagram of my birth name.

Subject: RE: Mudcat name
From: Phil Edwards
Date: 20 Jun 12 - 07:01 PM

I occasionally get the you're-nothing-like-your-online-persona (what on-line persona?)

Sean - take it from me, you are nothing like your online persona. Well, maybe not nothing like - there's a family likeness - but you're a lot nicer in person than your online persona would suggest. I don't know what this means, though - for all I know the elbows-out Suibhne is actually more authentic than civilised Sean.

I've been online in various forms since 1996, and I've always been Phil Edwards*; like Steve, I've never had any trouble as a result. Suibhne's "Insane Beard" period prompted me to go for "Pip Radish", which was fun for a while, but ultimately I couldn't see any reason not to be myself. Apart from anything else, it makes advertising a lot simpler.

Subject: RE: Mudcat name
From: ranger1
Date: 20 Jun 12 - 07:07 PM

I've had a stalker in real life. Kinda makes me a little gun shy about using my own name.

Subject: RE: Mudcat name
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 20 Jun 12 - 07:24 PM

I should like to know what these "privacy reasons" are that some pseudonym-users claim. Also, I should like to point out to those who conceal their names for "professional reasons" that Dick Gaughan runs a whole discussion site under his name and that he regularly posts on the site, often on the most controversial issues, as Dick Gaughan. I can't imagine what professional damage in the world of traditional music anyone feels they might do to themselves by posting responsibly under their real names. And good point there, Phil Cooper!

Subject: RE: Mudcat name
From: Ross Campbell
Date: 20 Jun 12 - 08:24 PM

"That reminds me, it's been too long since I changed my Mudcat name... " (Suibhne Astray)

NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

(Unless Joe Offer agrees to set up a cross-index of all name-changers - or updates all previous references with the new moniker - some threads get very difficult to follow because ALL posts from the individual concerned get changed to the new name, while replies still address the old name - which cannot then be found in the PM search.)

Forgive me - it's an age thing!

Ross

Subject: RE: Mudcat name
From: catspaw49
Date: 20 Jun 12 - 09:07 PM

Spaw is obviously short for catspaw.....I used the pseudonym because back then they were pretty common. Hide anything? No....on this site you can find a complete medical history of me for the past 14 years as well as my name (Pat Patterson) and all the other boilerplate info.

Spaw has become so commonly used that when I talk to other 'Catters, although they know my name, they call me Spaw and indeed it is Spaw that I've become. Although Pat might tell you something in his long winded way, Spaw would more often cut to the chase as he's grown weary of typing anymore.

So to answer in the best traditions of Spaw.............

Why do people need to have a Mudcat name?
Why would anyone give a shit?

What's wrong with a given name?
Generally nothing but yours pretty well sucks. Go with Sneed Hearn instead.

Welcome to the 'Cat!


Spaw

Subject: RE: Mudcat name
From: Janie
Date: 20 Jun 12 - 09:41 PM

Steve, not everyone who posts on Mudcat are musicians, much less professional musicians. I am a psychotherapist.

Subject: RE: Mudcat name
From: Rapparee
Date: 20 Jun 12 - 10:06 PM

I'm retired from being a public librarian. Being in a very real sense a public person with a common first name I didn't mind using an alias. I started as "Rapaire" but not everyone knows variants of Irish, so now I'm "Rapparee." If you don't know what a rapparee was I suggest you go look it up -- I'm a retired librarian.

Subject: RE: Mudcat name
From: GUEST,Howard Jones
Date: 21 Jun 12 - 02:39 AM

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."

Subject: RE: Mudcat name
From: GUEST,Suibhne Astray
Date: 21 Jun 12 - 04:41 AM

for all I know the elbows-out Suibhne is actually more authentic than civilised Sean.

On Mudcat it's blether & ideas - just words, opinions, passions & perspectives born from our various personal concerns & agendas. Naturally one approaches such things with a degree of academic detachment. Maybe I should sign my posts with a nice smiley emoticon?

In real life such things tend not to matter in the grand scheme of things, especially in a wider social setting of a singaround or session, where my inclination is to simply have a ball. One chap faced me quite agressively on a Mudcat issue at the bar once - I told him to cool his heels: online, fine - but not in our cups.

I believe in Folk 'n' Fun : which is to say Folk is Folk - and Fun is Fun; it's as serious as your life in terms of political & cultural legacy, and for many I know it can't be serious enough!

Ye canna win!

Subject: RE: Mudcat name
From: Dave MacKenzie
Date: 21 Jun 12 - 05:11 AM

I use my birth name for the same reasons as Phil Cooper, but also because there are so many of us that it's confusing enough as it is. Guess who one of my favourite film directors is! Many decades ago, my first wife complained that she (and my mother) called me David while the rest of the world called me Dave (apart from a few who still called me David R), and did that mean I was a different person at home from in the world at large. I'm more concerned with the spelling of my surname.

Subject: RE: Mudcat name
From: JHW
Date: 21 Jun 12 - 06:08 AM

I reckoned my initials were easy for other posters to write without the need to copy and paste; and those who know me will recognise them anyway. John Hepple Wilson

Subject: RE: Mudcat name
From: IanC
Date: 21 Jun 12 - 06:53 AM

I was just Ian before we had to register our names or post as GUEST. Then I discovered someone else was.

Ian Chandler

Subject: RE: Mudcat name
From: Phil Edwards
Date: 21 Jun 12 - 07:07 AM

One chap faced me quite agressively on a Mudcat issue at the bar once

Dear Lord. That does suggest a lack of appreciation of what's what, and in particular of what matters. When I was more heavily involved in online communities I made a point of never insulting or belittling anyone as a person - several times I told someone they were being an idiot or worse, but never (as far as I could manage) that they were an idiot. Online it's all a performance to some extent - we all get into habitual ways of writing, & sometimes the habits we get into are idiotic habits.

Subject: RE: Mudcat name
From: Rain Dog
Date: 21 Jun 12 - 07:17 AM

Well I guess it is a case of singing horses for courses. I would like to point out that any name used means much the same to me unless the poster goes on to reveal more information about themselves.Be it GUEST,Howard Jones, Ron Cheevers or Rapparee, I don't know who they are unless I want to go back trawling through their old posts

Subject: RE: Mudcat name
From: Richard Bridge
Date: 21 Jun 12 - 07:46 AM

It is the online culture if anonymity that leads to irresponsibility. However, on BIG issues (think whistleblowers about government misconduct) anonymity can be valuable - but alas given government resources that is the last example in which real anonymity prevails for long.

I favour real names and the late Dave Bryant did too.

Subject: RE: Mudcat name
From: Richard Bridge
Date: 21 Jun 12 - 07:48 AM

*of*

Subject: RE: Mudcat name
From: GUEST,Suibhne Astray
Date: 21 Jun 12 - 08:24 AM

I made a point of never insulting or belittling anyone as a person

I'd never do that, at least not without severe provocation (I can think of one occasion when I flew off it in your direction when I was being personally attacked from elsewhere, but we were quick to make ammends). I'm amazed how much personal abuse I get here though for simply trying to talk about stuff that matters, but none of what I say is in any way personal. Not naming names, but it really is very odd that they's sooner abuse me than talk rationally. That said, the most upset I ever caused here was for DEFENDING another Esteemed 'Catter's right to call me a **** without their post being 'moderated'. I might have retaliated a teensy bit, but, hell, I'm only human, you know?

*

NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Despite Ross's above protests, I'm counting down the days to when I become Jack Blandifer (or rather GUEST Blandifer seeing as this bloody heap of crap never keeps me signed in). I hear what you're saying though, Ross - but there's now a Preston band called Sweeney Astray and I'm keen to avoid any confusion...

Subject: RE: Mudcat name
From: Don(Wyziwyg)T
Date: 21 Jun 12 - 08:34 AM

When I joined I chose the name which was given to me by a folk club reviewer who liked my comic songs (at least, I think he liked them), and dubbed me Wysiwyg (What you see....etc), but it was pointed out that this moniker very closely approximated Susan's.

So I changed it to Don(Wyziwyg)T, Don being my real given name and T the initial of my real surname.

Not much cowardice there really, and even real names identify nobody to any other than those who already know the person.

As for guests,....well..

As Spaw said, "Who gives a shit?"

Don T.

Subject: RE: Mudcat name
From: EBarnacle
Date: 21 Jun 12 - 09:40 AM

Why hasn't Chongo weighed in on this?

Subject: RE: Mudcat name
From: Ross Campbell
Date: 21 Jun 12 - 10:33 AM

I spotted the potential Sweeney/Suibhne Astray conflict a while back - obviously more Seamus Heaney fans out there.

Fair enough, continue in the great tradition of Flann O'Brien/Brian O'Nolan/Myles na gCopaleen if you must!

Ross

Subject: RE: Mudcat name
From: frogprince
Date: 21 Jun 12 - 10:39 AM

The "Cat" was the first place I ever "said anything" online apart from online shopping. My profound reason for using a moniker was that I saw that a big share of the people did, so I did. My wife has an outrageous number of collectible wooden, ceramic, plastic, glass, plaster, metal, stuffed cloth, and photographed frogs, and kisses from her make me feel a lot more like a prince than I usta feel.

          Dean Elkins. (www.frayedtrain.com)

Subject: RE: Mudcat name
From: Haruo
Date: 21 Jun 12 - 01:29 PM

I use "Haruo" (Used to be Liland) even though my official (certified) name is "Leland Bryant Ross"; I prefer Haruo (which was my name in the Japanese public schools when I was a kid) in a lot of contexts (especially in Esperanto, which a lot of my life is lived in and where it is useful to have a name that ends in-o) and use it here, and at BaptistLife.com where I am a moderator, besides using it most of the time in Esperanto contexts (with the odd and now regretted exception of Facebook, where I unaccountably listed myself as Leland Bryant Ross even though more than half of my FB'ing is in Esperanto).

Subject: RE: Mudcat name
From: GUEST,sciencegeek
Date: 21 Jun 12 - 03:09 PM

well, I came somewhat late into social sites & the advice then was to use a "handle"... seemed not unlike CB use, but it took awhile to find a user name that wasn't already taken.

I'm sciencegeek51 on most other sites... lol. I can remember it - dang, oldtimers!- and it does fit me... though my interests are so diverse - I really do find scientific method to be the "obvious" way to look at things in life.

I try to be courteous when I'm online, even when spiteful nonsense is directed my way by individuals whom I neither know nor probably care to know. My identity is known to other mudcatters that I have either met in person or had other contact with. My given name doesn't really give any real personal information about me and irrelevant - unless you're a long lost, wealthy relative. LOL

Chris Setari

Subject: RE: Mudcat name
From: Phil Edwards
Date: 21 Jun 12 - 03:33 PM

Continuity Jones is an anagram of my birth name.

Jenny Nictotious! I always wondered what happened to you. Loved the album.

Seriously, that's an excellent anagram, whatever it's an anagram of. The best I could come up with was "Lewd" Pip Radish; the "Lewd" didn't laat for obvious reasons.

Subject: RE: Mudcat name
From: Gurney
Date: 21 Jun 12 - 04:00 PM

When I came to Mudcat, it was from a site that sometimes dissolved into acrimony. Nothing to do with me, but I knew the identity of several people involved, and on that site, I just lurked.
With Mudcat, I chose to use a childhood nickname, given to me long ago because I carelessly let it be known that I liked a BBC series called 'Gurney Slade.'
I needn't have bothered, though. The short version of my Christian name is unisex anyway, and few remember my surname for long.
Chris.

Subject: RE: Mudcat name
From: Joe_F
Date: 21 Jun 12 - 05:02 PM

I have never paid much attention to my nickname on various sites; if a site assigns me one as a default, I leave it that way. That explains why I am Joseph Fineman on Facebook. Joe_F is my email address; I chose it when I moved from The World to Verizon because jcf had already been used at Verizon. I am come_to_think at LiveJournal because the other possibilities had already be used, and my zine on the Gay Amateur Press Association had been so named.

Subject: RE: Mudcat name
From: Joe Nicholson
Date: 22 Jun 12 - 06:42 AM

The thing is with using funny names they often give no clue as to gender you see Suibne Astray ( which being a bit of a scanner I read as Sublime Ashtray) I always thought you were a lass until today.

Joe Nicholson

Subject: RE: Mudcat name
From: GUEST,Suibhne Astray
Date: 22 Jun 12 - 07:08 AM

Well - I'll be Jack Blandifer / GUEST Blandifer come the weekend, Joe. And I'm sure you're not alone in reading it as Sublime Ashtray, bringing me back to the glory days of smoke-filled singarounds with everyone smoking apart from whoever was singing. Not so very long ago really when you think of it, but almost impossible to imagine now. I've still got an old blue-glass McEwans ashtray tucked away someplace in case of a relapse...

I do miss the reek of 'Sailor' Ron Baxter's pipe though; it added a certain touch of authenticity to a session.

Subject: RE: Mudcat name
From: Highlandman
Date: 22 Jun 12 - 08:35 AM

No, Joe, you're not alone in reading Sublime Ashtray on a quick scan. I often think that unreliable eyesight has made my world a lot more interesting than it otherwise would have been. Oh the things I have seen that never were!
-Glenn

Subject: RE: Mudcat name
From: Nick
Date: 22 Jun 12 - 08:57 AM

I use my name as it seems easiest.

I did used to very occasionally use Isaac Hornbill (or if I felt like being female - Sharon Bacilli) as both are anagrams of my name but it's too much hassle.

I agree with Steve.

Subject: RE: Mudcat name
From: GUEST,Grishka
Date: 22 Jun 12 - 08:59 AM

(Suibhne, I remember the days when most Chanson performers actually smoked while singing. Ashtrays were rarely used. Then sublime, now ridiculous, for those who escaped lung cancer.)

Any mentioning of a full name at Mudcat, as a nick or in the text of a message, allows anyone to find it via search engines.

Most of us will claim to have nothing to hide. But assume you are applying for a job or a bank loan, would you like the clerk to know everything you wrote here, including your opinion on BS matters and details about your involvement in music?

This is of course irrelevant to those whose Mudcat contributions are part of their public appearance. They had best use the name by which they want to be famous.

A good nickname should give a hint about the bearer's gender and cultural background, to facilitate communication.

Subject: RE: Mudcat name
From: Joe Offer
Date: 22 Jun 12 - 11:35 AM

Grishka sez: This is of course irrelevant to those whose Mudcat contributions are part of their public appearance. They had best use the name by which they want to be famous.
In my case, I achieved infamy instead of fame. Oh, well...

---

Here are the results on "Joe Offer" at http://howmanyofme.com/search/

Offer
1. There are 717 people in the U.S. with the last name Offer.
2. Statistically the 34711th most popular last name.
3. There are 511,576 people in the U.S. with the first name Joe.
Joe
1. Statistically the 110th most popular first name.
2. 98.47 percent of people with the first name Joe are male.
3. Names similar to Joe: Joseph
Joe Offer
1. There is 1 person in the U.S. named Joe Offer.

I have a cousin named Joe Offer and a nephew named Joe Offer. Go figure....

Note, however, that the Website says There are 5 people in the U.S. named Joseph Offer. So, maybe they're right, in a way.

If you want to change your Mudcat name, that can be done. However, you now have to contact me to do it, and I keep a record of all name changes. We do not allow people to have more than one membership, but there are some that have many. Go figure.
-Joe-

Subject: RE: Mudcat name
From: topical tom
Date: 22 Jun 12 - 03:28 PM

I like topical songs, hence my Mudcat name.Tom is not my real name but I like the alliteration.

Subject: RE: Mudcat name
From: GUEST
Date: 22 Jun 12 - 06:42 PM

Spaw... "Why do people need to have a Mudcat name? Why would anyone give a shit? What's wrong with a given name? Generally nothing but yours pretty well sucks. Go with Sneed Hearn instead. Welcome to the 'Cat!"

Pretty much sums it up. I would be more brief... they don't.

Subject: RE: Mudcat name
From: stallion
Date: 22 Jun 12 - 06:54 PM

"Fewer than 1" hu   only one I have found on the net! Mine is from Two Black Sheep and a Stallion - I was the one drinking Hambleton Stallion that infamous night we got our name!

Subject: RE: Mudcat name
From: Steve Gardham
Date: 22 Jun 12 - 06:58 PM

'applying for a job'
I thought we were all retired or self-employed performers.

Subject: RE: Mudcat name
From: GUEST,Grishka
Date: 22 Jun 12 - 07:02 PM

Joe, you volunteer not only your complete name, but many details about your life and personality. Sometimes I have the feeling that I know in advance what you think. That is of course your intention, to give Mudcat a kind of personal touch, and certainly earns you more respect than "infamy", as you well know. Nevertheless, I hope you never have to apply for a bank loan.

Those who really care should not be too sure that they cannot be distinguished from their namesakes. We all give additional clues. In my own case, I do not worry too much about being recognised by Mudcatters (very few are likely to know me), but I do not want my full name mentioned. It is a probably unwritten but self-evident matter of etiquette to respect such wishes.

Most Americans have their "middle initials" for easier identification. Google finds a couple of "Joe B. Offer"s etc. The site "howmanyofme.com" is definitely not reliable. Note that bank clerks and private eyes have more refined methods of searching - about LEA, I am not so sure ...

Subject: RE: Mudcat name
From: Rapparee
Date: 22 Jun 12 - 07:54 PM

There are, according to that website, two people with my full name and one or fewer using the diminutive. Quite honestly I don't care anymore, but I keep what I have for consistency.

Subject: RE: Mudcat name
From: ChanteyLass
Date: 23 Jun 12 - 01:01 AM

Steve Shaw, you wanted to know about the "privacy reasons" that some of us have for using pen names. In my case, I often post info about concerts or festivals in my area. I go to some, but not all, of them. However, I know that if someone breaks into my home while I am at one (or worse at home instead of at one), the police and others will be smirking that I gave out information online that indicated I would be away at the time of the event. And just by posting this i hope that I have not made myself more vulnerable.

Subject: RE: Mudcat name
From: Bugsy
Date: 23 Jun 12 - 02:11 AM

I'm with 'Spaw.

Who gives a Rat's?

Cheers

Bugsy

Subject: RE: Mudcat name
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 23 Jun 12 - 08:44 AM

You have a choice. Rejoice in your real name and post under it, and avoid letting people know the specific times when you're out. There are easy enough ways of doing that: a quick re-read of your post before sending is the simplest. Everybody in the world knows that I'm out some of the time, as I'm not a recluse, though I studiously avoid giving out specific details, but no-one here has a clue what thugs I've left behind to guard the place or what massive collection of vicious dogs I harbour. Or carry on as you are now.

Subject: RE: Mudcat name
From: Geordie-Peorgie
Date: 23 Jun 12 - 10:18 AM

My first 'addition' to a Mudcat thread was after I'd enjoyed the site for about three months - as a 'punter'. Then one day I wanted to respond to someone's post, but in the 'geordie' vernacular. So I decided to register with a 'geordie' name (not unlike my own!) and efter that it wez aall playun sailin', man! Aah've made some serious friends - some aah've met at mudgathers & festivals, some aah've only met online - but the've aall been a source of fun and inspiration ower the years. Aah divvent get te visit the site like aah used te but when aah dee, they're aall there - and some new uns! Thanks 'catters, it's aalwez a treat!

Subject: RE: Mudcat name
From: GUEST,punkfolkrocker
Date: 23 Jun 12 - 11:04 AM

way I see it..

you either use your own real life identity, or you make up a name;
it's entirely up to you...

simple & easy as that.

What might concern me more is why some folks seem so insistent
on attempting to seize & monopolise the moral high ground
to try to dictate the choice everyone else should make..????

Subject: RE: Mudcat name
From: Megan L
Date: 23 Jun 12 - 11:10 AM

I once made the mistake of using my given name on another site. A woman I had been talking to took that information and general area and tracked down my phone I was getting over 20 calls a day from her at all hours. This only stopped when my husband told her he had now gathered enough information from her calls to pass on to the police if she ever called again.

There are lots of dangers on the internet people should be aware and take what precautions they can to keep themself safe.

Subject: RE: Mudcat name
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 23 Jun 12 - 12:58 PM

I haven't seen anyone trying to dictate. Just a healthy variety of experiences and opinions. It's interesting to read them all.

Subject: RE: Mudcat name
From: Haruo
Date: 25 Jun 12 - 03:43 PM

If you move, most search engines will think you have bifurcated like the amoeba you're descended from...

I'm also not clear why anything Joe Offer has done here would be an obstacle in seeking a bank loan.

Subject: RE: Mudcat name
From: gnu
Date: 25 Jun 12 - 04:24 PM

Megan L is right. I have never made a secret of my real name or city where I live. Perhaps I should have because a woman in Europe began telephoning me (I live in Canada) and harrassing me until I told her I would call the RCMP the next time she phoned me.

She no longer posts at Mudcat, that I know of. She harrased other Mudcatters as well and got caught out at it. Ya never know who is on the other end of the internut. Trolls and bullies are all warm and fuzzy until they mess with ya. Then, it's too late.

Subject: RE: Mudcat name
From: GUEST,Grishka
Date: 25 Jun 12 - 06:26 PM

Steve, there is some moral implication (though not dictation) in the original posting; it may be read to the effect that any decent person should use her or his full name, thus visibly taking full responsibility for what she or he writes. That is the usual practice in personal communication ("My name is Bond, James Bond"); I think that different rules apply in a public internet forum accessible to search engines.

Haruo, unfortunately people are often assessed by irrational criteria. Imagine a bank clerk who is a Newborn Seventh Day Anabaptist and happens to mistrust all Progressive Catholics, perhaps unconsciously. I may be wrong in this special case, it just serves as an example.

The general rules are in my opinion:

• Don't volunteer any information publicly on the net if now or later there may be any person in the world whom you do not want to know it.
• Don't urge others to volunteer such information.
• Most importantly: don't publish such information you happen to know about others, including their names - this is certainly a valid moral issue.

I do not want to promote paranoia, just to counteract any instigation to be careless.

Subject: RE: Mudcat name
From: JennieG
Date: 25 Jun 12 - 06:46 PM

There are 681 of me (first and last name) in the USA.....133 of me (first and last name) with my maiden name in the USA......

but when I google my full maiden name, first, middle and surname, there's only me. It's on a family history site, so I know it's me. I'm unique - how about that?

Cheers
JennieG....Jennie because it's one version of my first name, G because it's the initial of my middle name, therefore I am unlikely to forget it.

Subject: RE: Mudcat name
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 25 Jun 12 - 07:19 PM

My name and address have been in my local phonebook for over 35 years. I'm not exactly inviting anyone to make a career out of tracking me down, but Jeez, it ain't hard!

Grishka's bullet points are pretty sensible, but read on. But what I'm really getting at are those people who think they can say what they like with utter abandon under a pseudonym. Just take a look at any popular Youtube video and read the crap underneath. You even get it on here. And if anyone is dissing me gratuitously on a public website I reserve the moral right - yeah, moral - to publish his name and/or photo if I happen to lay my hands on them. They have forfeited their right to anonymity as far as I'm concerned.

Subject: RE: Mudcat name
From: Tootler
Date: 25 Jun 12 - 08:03 PM

I use a pseudonym here. I don't make a particular secret of who I am, I just choose to use a pseudonym. I use the same one for most forums if I can and if someone else has taken it already I usually use "TootlinGeoff".

It comes from my wife referring to my recorder playing as "Tootling".

I recently referred to my trying out some ukuleles in a shop as as "Plinking" so maybe I have an alternative should I need one.

Regardless of the fact that I use a Pseudonym, I am usually pretty careful about what I write. I have been caught out once or twice because I didn't think and check before pressing "send". Nothing serious - just a telling off on one forum - but enough to give me pause for thought.

Simple rule is to check "Preview" before submitting and only finally submit after you have checked through what you have written and edited it if necessary.

Subject: RE: Mudcat name
From: GUEST,Psychomorris
Date: 26 Jun 12 - 03:20 AM

I am just mad about Morris or is it that Morris is mad about me? Or is it that Morris is mad anyway? So it was the only name for me. (Morris groupie, retired Psychiatric Nurse).

Subject: RE: Mudcat name
From: Wheatman
Date: 26 Jun 12 - 03:34 AM

When I joined Mud Cat I did not know the rules so thought you had to have a nick-name, so I made one up which related with my connection with Straw Bears. Most of my contacts in real life know who I am and my telephone number and address has been on Whittlesea Straw Bear publicity for the past 32 years or so. I don't think I have been compromised because of this but it is best to take whatever security measures you feel are necessary. gan canny Brian