Real Name vs. Username

[Courier Sportster]

I was building a vintage Berkeley Courier Sportster balsa model at the time. And I saw many of you all had cool names that reflected your interests in aviation-related concerns. A lurker just trying to fit in. Not trying to hide out behind a mask or anything. Though tempted to speak my mind once or twice, anonymous or not, one dares not verbally misstep in this crowd. I'm kind of a nobody amongst you flying giants (my favorite being Larry Kraus), so I mostly keep my head down. Also, about location, I don't want strangers from my home town hearing things like "hey i'm going to be in this part of the country on so-and-so date, where are the cool museums?" Of course I could just omit the time frame! Still, paranoia creeps in around the edges. The internet is a scary place. If you clicked on my now-lost photos and read my posts, it would be child's play to ascertain my true identity and whereabouts. As an aside, I think everybody needs to reload their broken avatars and GIFs. I enjoy those.

[kalamazookid]

I would be in favor of using my personal name, but only if seeing that name displayed is restricted to users who are logged in. With social media, one can adjust privacy settings to make sure posts aren't public and restrict access to select people on friend's lists or in groups. The only social media account I have that is public is Flickr and that's only so I can post photos here. When I Google my name, it is the only thing directly associated with me that comes up in a search result. I value the option to restrict access to what I post with my name online. I would prefer a similar option here, just for the sake of the privacy. Forums seem more open to harassment from the casual internet troll and I'd prefer not to have my name accessible to those people.

I do understand the argument of using one's name to post because it increases accountability. Personally, I'm not any more or less likely to post my opinion whether my name is associated with it or not. I am accountable either way. I wouldn't stop posting here if using my name was required - I would just prefer not to, all options being equal.

[Randy Haskin]

I'd just be too embarrassed to use my real name.

[JimH]

arley I have always believed if you are going voice an opinion, use your name to back it up...even if your screen name isn't your given name, at least sign your post with your given name.

JimH

[tulsaboy]

I will say this...some of us have jobs that are not particularly conducive to participation on internet boards or forums. I am a criminal prosecutor, and do almost exclusively homicides. Some of them quite high profile, and against some pretty nasty people. I don't really want it to be easy for people to find me, but I enjoy being a part of this community as it has taught me a great deal and allowed me to develop some neat friendships. I am in favor of leaving it as it is. I don't perceive there to be too much of a problem on this board of "keyboard warriors" hiding behind pseudonyms. If it becomes a problem, then I think you, Scott, have every right to change the rules. But until it is a big problem I am in favor of letting it remain just the way it is.
kevin

[K5DH]

I use my Amateur Radio call sign as my WIX screen name, and I include my full name in my signature block. Unless there is a valid reason not to (see Kevin's input above!), I think we should be willing to put our names behind anything we say on a public forum. I get pretty tired of the internet bullies who hide behind their screen names and blocked IP addresses while they fling insults at the rest of us from their mommys' basements.

[p51]

Nobody has yet to address the point I brought up earlier; how would you know the name the person uses is really theirs?
I could just say my name is something, but that doesn't make it so.
I've seen people make up profiles on forums in the name of other people to make enemies online (and later, in real life) without the real person having a clue until the damage is done.
Think of the cases where someone is vilified in the media but doesn't have a Facebook presence for people to vent their spleens toward. How often have you heard of people making a profile in that person's name as a conduit for that hate?

[OD/NG]

Nobody has yet to address the point I brought up earlier; how would you know the name the person uses is really theirs?
I could just say my name is something, but that doesn't make it so.
I've seen people make up profiles on forums in the name of other people to make enemies online (and later, in real life) without the real person having a clue until the damage is done.
Think of the cases where someone is vilified in the media but doesn't have a Facebook presence for people to vent their spleens toward. How often have you heard of people making a profile in that person's name as a conduit for that hate?

That's a huge unresolved issue. The only way to solve that would be identification verification. New people joining would have to send some kind of I.D. to the Mods, like a driver's license, passport, W-2, etc. Doing that would open up a whole can of worms regarding privacy issues which could subject Scott to legal liability. Besides that, I doubt that Scott and/or the Mods would want the headache of administrating such a verification service, along with protecting and disposing of submitted private information. We already have enough invasion of privacy issues from Google, search engines, and numerous Federal agencies, so we don't need a new one here, imo.

[sandiego89]

Did the recent (now deleted) thread on the Swiss tragedy serve as a spark for the poll? Things got emotional in that one (and no I do not want to reopen that at all), but the timing seems related, or perhaps the straw, or perhaps just coincidence? Were folks asking for full names here? I only ask as emotions may still be in play. Emotions can lead to changes (some good, some bad) and influence polls, but I usually observe that time and stepping back a bit helps calm things.

Again no offense to anyone. I love this site, the topics and most of the conversations

I have voted fine as is.