# Names



## Maggie Cummings (Nov 16, 2010)

Why do we spend some time thinking up Internet names, like to get on the forum, (emysemys) yet every one calls her by her real name Yvonne? spikethebest, aka Cory... Madkins007 aka Mark...Why not just use our real names? maggie3fan aka maggie3fan...


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## Tom (Nov 16, 2010)

Do you remember how I started out? "Tom" just sounded better than "Roachman" when having a typed conversation with someone.

I think most forums and forum participants rely on, and enjoy, some anonymity. TFO feels much friendlier and more personal than the normal "forums" out there. We seem to really get to know each other here. I've made lots of new friends in a pretty short time.


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## onarock (Nov 16, 2010)

onarock = because I'm On a rock in the middle of the ocean the most isolated place on earth actually.
You can call me Paul


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## Torty Mom (Nov 16, 2010)

Sad to say, I couldn't think of anything clever......Torty Mom or Mary Anne works for me!


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## fhintz (Nov 16, 2010)

Well, most people in their real life neighborhoods, their name is usually unique in that context. In some cases, just a first name is unique, and if not, first and last usually suffices. In the internet universe, hypothetically the "neighborhood" is potentially a lot bigger, so the chances of just a name being unique goes way down. For instance, as AOL took off, rather than "[email protected]", you had "[email protected]", etc. etc. So, using nicknames became a way to reclaim a bit of uniqueness, and also be more descriptive, such as "iowagardenerbob" rather than "bobsmith3456".

Then, as people realized that a hypothetically "total world" experience can be pretty intimidating, the anonymity thing that Tom mentioned came into play, so "iowagardenerbob" became "iowagardener".

Finally, because a lot of people are competitive, and coinciding with the explosion of the internet as a gaming platform, the motivation to have the coolest name started to come into play. So, "iowagardener" became "IAbestgardens". Or, in the vernacular of the internets "IAr0xl33tw33ds".

There's my long winded explanation . which is partly tongue in cheek.

Frank (one day I should make a signature)


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## DonaTello's-Mom (Nov 16, 2010)

fhintz said:


> Well, most people in their real life neighborhoods, their name is usually unique in that context. In some cases, just a first name is unique, and if not, first and last usually suffices. In the internet universe, hypothetically the "neighborhood" is potentially a lot bigger, so the chances of just a name being unique goes way down. For instance, as AOL took off, rather than "[email protected]", you had "[email protected]", etc. etc. So, using nicknames became a way to reclaim a bit of uniqueness, and also be more descriptive, such as "iowagardenerbob" rather than "bobsmith3456".
> 
> Then, as people realized that a hypothetically "total world" experience can be pretty intimidating, the anonymity thing that Tom mentioned came into play, so "iowagardenerbob" became "iowagardener".
> 
> ...


Oh that was great! Do you mind repeating that again???..


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## nascarmw (Nov 17, 2010)

well I am called Nascarmw online, I have been a huge fan of nascar for over 35 years and Michael Waltrip has been my favorite driver for 26 years LOL but you can call me Lisa, that works too!


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## Shelli (Nov 17, 2010)

I think when I went to use my name it was taken or at least it usually is so I don't bother try anymore..
I tried to think of something tortoisey when picking my user name.. 
You know Tortoise Shell... = Shelli (had to make it a bit more girly)... 
My real name is Tasha but Shelli has a nicer ring to it.. lol


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## Isa (Nov 17, 2010)

Hmm well I guess I do not have a lot of imagination, my name is Isabelle, everone calls me Isa so my name on here is Isa


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## coreyc (Nov 17, 2010)

Im with you first name Corey last name starts with a C put them together you get coreyc no imagination,


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## jensgotfaith (Nov 17, 2010)

Mine's jensgotfaith because my name is Jenni and I have a strong faith.


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## Angi (Nov 17, 2010)

This is my first forum. The cyber world is some what new to me so I just used my first name. I really don't know what else I would call myself.


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## zzzdanz (Nov 17, 2010)

Back when I first got a computer Dan was already taken,so I just kept adding a Z until it got excepted.


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## RV's mom (Nov 17, 2010)

sharkstar was what yahoo (or someone/thing else) initially assgned to me when I signed up for an email account. it's easy to type, and kinda cool I guess. but my friends just call me

teri


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## Maggie Cummings (Nov 17, 2010)

nascarmw said:


> well I am called Nascarmw online, I have been a huge fan of nascar for over 35 years and Michael Waltrip has been my favorite driver for 26 years LOL but you can call me Lisa, that works too!



You can tell by my name that I also have been a NASCAR fan for a lot of years...I have been maggie3fan since the 1980's...guess now I should change to maggie18fan...somehow it doesn't have the same ring...
this thread shows what a friendly group this is, I hope I can remember everybody's name...


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## DeanS (Nov 17, 2010)

Tom said:


> Do you remember how I started out? "Tom" just sounded better than "Roachman" when having a typed conversation with someone.



Yeah! But Roachman would've been cool...with the double meaning and all!


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## terryo (Nov 17, 2010)

Well, my name is Terry, and I just added the O for my last name. I use the same name on all the forums that I belong to.


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## Marty333 (Nov 17, 2010)

Now a days when joining a forum or making an account you have to add numbers and letters stupid right? So I have always used Marty333 Because my name is marta and 3 is my lucky number so three three's

You all can call me Katerina though


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## chairman (Nov 17, 2010)

I believe that this is the first forum that I have been on and when I joined it looked like everyone else had a made-up name, so I just went along with the crowd. I ended up using the "trail name" that was given to me when I thru-hiked the AT: Chairman. I got it because I was the only idiot out there who decided to carry the extra weight of... you guessed it, a chair. I just liked always having a nice, dry place to sit no matter where I was. After figuring out the friendly nature of the forum, I eventually just added my first name to my signature.


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## DeanS (Nov 17, 2010)

terryo said:


> Well, my name is Terry, and I just added the O for my last name. I use the same name on all the forums that I belong to.



I don't understand why you would do that at all!


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## terryo (Nov 17, 2010)

DeanS said:


> terryo said:
> 
> 
> > Well, my name is Terry, and I just added the O for my last name. I use the same name on all the forums that I belong to.
> ...



You mean add the O? People were confusing Terry K with me. On another forum someone was asking me about "the good old days" and I had no idea what he was talking about.


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## Kristina (Nov 17, 2010)

DeanS said:


> Tom said:
> 
> 
> > Do you remember how I started out? "Tom" just sounded better than "Roachman" when having a typed conversation with someone.
> ...



It WAS Roachman, Dean, that was his point, lol.

My user name has a story. I started using the internet back in early Highschool. Around that time, my best friend was killed in a car accident. Her name was "Miriah." I made up "Kyryah" - it is pronounced like Miriah with a "K" (because my real name starts with a "K") and some creative spelling. After, oh, 16-17 years, it has kind of stuck.

Now, I THOUGHT that I had made it up - but suddenly, about two years ago, "Kyryah" started showing up on baby name websites as a Greek name meaning "town." For the previous almost two decades, I could find absolutely no reference to it, anywhere. And still, when you google "Kyryah" almost the ENTIRE content of the first 13 PAGES are all ME!!!  Draw your own conclusions there.


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## Yvonne G (Nov 17, 2010)

Marty333 said:


> Now a days when joining a forum or making an account you have to add numbers and letters stupid right? So I have always used Marty333 Because my name is marta and 3 is my lucky number so three three's
> 
> You all can call me Katerina though



Well, are you Marta or Katerina? I'm so confused!!!


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## Marty333 (Nov 17, 2010)

Im Katerina sorry for the confusion  My full name is Marta Katerina Schwarz so I am called by my middle name


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## jobeanator (Nov 17, 2010)

haha my names like a knock off from the terminator.. even tho my name on here is "jobeanator" im cooler than the terminator lol. ive had that name since i was like in highschool. its a combination of my real name (joby) and terminator and ta-da! jobeanator was created!


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## DeanS (Nov 18, 2010)

terryo said:


> DeanS said:
> 
> 
> > terryo said:
> ...



I was joking...as I did the same thing you did...and I'm seeing more of it! 



kyryah said:


> DeanS said:
> 
> 
> > Tom said:
> ...



OH! I didn't know that...he was already Tom when I joined!


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## laura808 (Nov 26, 2010)

Marty333 said:


> Now a days when joining a forum or making an account you have to add numbers and letters stupid right? So I have always used Marty333 Because my name is marta and 3 is my lucky number so three three's
> 
> You all can call me Katerina though



3 is my lucky number also. Its on all of my sports jerseys  



wellll I chose laura808 because my name is Laura, and 808 is the Hawaii area code. hahaha I couldnt think of anything else


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## RianSeeking (Nov 26, 2010)

My 'home base' forum is supported by a small close knit core group of...oh, probably twelve souls.

We've met up all over the world. And it's always hysterically funny to shout across a busy square, "Hey, Raisemyhands, we're over here!"

Generally both 'real' names and 'screen' names get shortened one way or another. And it's interesting which personalities retain their made up screen name during real life meets and which revert to the name their parents gave them.

Once we were gaggling and laughing in a line as we waited for a boat ride in Paris. A group of serious looking folks shot us a look. One of our younger members said, "Don't worry, we're from the internet."

I'm not sure that excused us, really.


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## TashaR (Nov 26, 2010)

Shelli said:


> I think when I went to use my name it was taken or at least it usually is so I don't bother try anymore..
> I tried to think of something tortoisey when picking my user name..
> You know Tortoise Shell... = Shelli (had to make it a bit more girly)...
> My real name is Tasha but Shelli has a nicer ring to it.. lol



Hey, I'm a Tasha too!


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## Laura (Nov 26, 2010)

well.. mine is laura.. cuz.. i joined early and it wasnt taken yet, and its my name. 

I like the creative names.. it shows a bit of who you are.. 
but it would be nice to have your Real name in the signature if its a creative one up top. 
I used to have a creative one for email... cheetahrain....


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## Stephanie Logan (Nov 27, 2010)

Haha, well, this thread is interesting, and of course I am the ultimate example of not being forum-savvy and just using my real name! 

Actually, as I recall, I was concerned about Taco's health due to her pyramiding and poor care, and I was in a hurry to join this forum to get advice, so I wasn't really thinking about user names in a creative sense. 

Katerina, I love your photo and I am so sorry that your Chevy has moved on...


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## Madkins007 (Nov 28, 2010)

"Madkins007" is from AOL. They recommended first initial, last name but madkins was already taken so they wanted me to use madkins238 or something forgettable like that. I discovered by accident that they considered 01 a different number than 1, so I figured the most memorable 0 number I could come up with was 007. It worked so well, that my wife and kids went by [email protected] for a while as well. 

People assume I am a Bond fan, and I like the older stuff and the gadgets, but don't care much other than that. I have other names I use when I want more anonymity. I probably could have registered here as Mark or Mark Adkins, but madkins007 is such a habitat that I use it almost without thinking.


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## abra (Nov 28, 2010)

I was going to make something cool up but I remembered how rare my name is so I was pretty sure that nobody would have it so I was like might as well use it  I just hate the fact that I'm sure most people on here probably can't pronounce it:

It's ah-bruh not ay-bruh and not pronounced like "a" as in apple, it's more like an "o" in on so like Aubra, like people who have the name Aubrey. It's the same name except mines better


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## DeanS (Nov 28, 2010)

sharkstar said:


> sharkstar was what yahoo (or someone/thing else) initially assgned to me when I signed up for an email account. it's easy to type, and kinda cool I guess. but my friends just call me
> 
> teri



And here I thought you were the Phoenix version of Frank Mundus. I know you love to fish...but I guess not too many Great whites in AZ


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## Yvonne G (Nov 28, 2010)

fhintz said:


> Frank (one day I should make a signature)



By the time you get around to it we will have decided that signatures are no longer allowed because they take up too much space.


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## Edna (Nov 28, 2010)

Well I would be happy to switch to my real name, if the mods can do that for us. I would still be a queen, of course, but could use my given name just to be sporting. 
EdnaH27


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## Maggie Cummings (Nov 28, 2010)

And mine is or should be pretty obvious...maggie3fan, I have been that since 1991 or so and I'm just not ready to change it yet...altho the time is probably coming now that he's been dead for 9 or 10 years


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## Jerseynox (Dec 4, 2010)

i used jersey because thats all ive been called in reallife( well that & vulgaritys) for the past 16/17 years since i moved from new jersey to michigan there was to many joes around so it started out when some 1 would call joe 4 of us would say what, so they just started calling me jersey joe which changed to just jersey. NOX stands for non cheater in the gaming comm.i was very involved(admin) with a NON CHEATING gaming clan ST1 NOX for a few years, game servers,website,forums (MOH,COD) 
for the 15 years ive been online
when i go to sign up somewhere 
joe is always taken 
very ofter jersey is taken,
but theres only 1 jerseynox


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## dmmj (Dec 4, 2010)

DMJ is my initials, the extra m is to throw "them" off.


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## Neal (Dec 4, 2010)

dmmj said:


> DMJ is my initials, the extra m is to throw "them" off.



That reminds me of the BBBQ episode of the simpsons. The xtra B is for BYOBB.


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## Stephanie Logan (Dec 4, 2010)

abra said:


> It's ah-bruh not ay-bruh and not pronounced like "a" as in apple, it's more like an "o" in on so like Aubra, like people who have the name Aubrey. It's the same name except mines better



Yes, but it's your signature that's the most cool! 

DMMJ, you better be David Junior because that's how I've pictured you all this time...you know, with the cap that has the helicopter propeller blade on the top.


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