General Discussion Thread

[hushpiper]

One reason I regretted revealing my name blatantly was for the mystery  However, it's not like anyone reads that far back in the introduction thread anymore. And maybe it was my imagination but I think there've been at least a couple people unsure about my gender...

That's not entirely a bad thing. There've been a couple times in my life when I've insisted on not revealing my gender online at all for completely different reasons and would've been happy for slightly fewer people pegging me (correctlyish) as female. But then, being misgendered is never fun, even online...

[OrigamiOwl]

Heh, I've left enough separate "clues/info bits" about my real life on the forum that you can quite easily google a few keywords and find the only 2 pictures of me on the internet. It can be done. I tested it. Please don't stalk me
-___-

[Piney]

That's not entirely a bad thing. There've been a couple times in my life when I've insisted on not revealing my gender online at all for completely different reasons and would've been happy for slightly fewer people pegging me (correctlyish) as female. But then, being misgendered is never fun, even online...

I don't think it's a bad thing, I think it's rather amusing. I like to think that there are people who think I sound like a guy. It's also interesting that you really can't tell someone's gender online unless they reveal personal details. Maybe I just think I talk like a girl because I am a girl (and I use emoticons - that's often more of a stereotypical female thing). And for username, it was meant to be ambiguous.

Heh, I've left enough separate "clues/info bits" about my real life on the forum that you can quite easily google a few keywords and find the only 2 pictures of me on the internet. It can be done. I tested it. Please don't stalk me
-___-

Oh yes, there are definite ways that you can discover who I am (and where I'm from). I'm pretty sure you can't find out my last name from stalking my links, but - no wait, I take that back. There's a picture of me from 2009 somewhere, and several pictures of me from last year on the tumblr that I didn't link. I've said too much already. Don't stalk me either, thanks.

[Lenny]

Hmmm, someone could most likely dig up photos of myself online, but none that I myself have put up - only a few school/newspaper/magazine things. And as I've never released my actual name (either first or last) anywhere at all online, it would be a bit hard to discover them without knowing me in real life. I've no illusions - it's definitely possible to discover my identity with the information I have released, but it'd be quite troublesome to do so *shrug*

As for online stalking, please do. My art pages could do with more traffic, and I don't invite randoms and slight acquaintances to my fb/social sites circle

Gender mistakes... that's happened a few times, due to name. I don't really mind overly much, but people tend to think of others slightly differently dependent on gender, so I try to dispel illusions when I'm aware of them.

[Piney]

I'm only telling you this because I've been awake for 24 hours, but I have sort of been imagining you as THE HUMAN PINEAPPLE. Because name associations.

Oh... okay.  ??? I'm cool with that. I have definitely not gotten that before.

[hushpiper]

I'm only telling you this because I've been awake for 24 hours, but I have sort of been imagining you as THE HUMAN PINEAPPLE. Because name associations.

I am much more likely to associate online people with scents or textures than associative images, personally. I think of Piney as the scent of... Hm. Less pine than juniper, actually. Yeah, exactly juniper now I think of it: a little bit of pine, a little bit of sharp fruit (not quite citrus but close, almost like ozone), and something warm and herbaceous and spicy.

... And I am only saying that because it's way past my bedtime and I can't sleeeeeeeep *sobs*

[Sunflower]

I've been meaning to ask - is there a general "we should all be anonymous thing" going on in this forum, or is it just some people? There was some discussion on astrology and people's signs and someone wondered if this bordered too close on revealing Real Life Identities.

Has this been discussed? And can I still be openly and blatantly Oda? I do of course have no problem with people wanting to hold back their real names and faces.

AFAIK nobody discussed anonymity.  I think it was just that a lot of us early members used pseudonyms, and accidentally created a Founder Effect.  But it's totally OK for people to use all or part of their full name/identity!  At least in *this* corner of the Internet, the atmosphere is very respectful. 

I adopted a pseudo for several reasons, some of them kind of feeble.

* I've never participated in a forum before, and I wasn't sure how I'd be received.  Y'all know how nasty the Internet can be -- particularly towards women.  The Washington Post columnist Gene Weingarten describes online *news* comments as "getting a side dish of maggots with your steak."  Obviously my fears were unfounded.  But at the time I erred on the side of safety.

* I felt awkward about "coming out of the closet" w/r/t my geek interests -- especially since I'm older and more square than a lot of you.  What if my parents saw my posts about explosives, or Mikkel's pettable sideburns, or whatever?  What if (horrors) potential employers saw them?  (Although on second thought, I'm in Silicon Valley -- potential bosses probably spend their evenings doing anime fansubs or Star Trek cosplay.)

* I have an unusual name (thanks, Mom and Dad) that is A) easy to Google and B) dorky.  When I was a kid, it was worse than being "A Boy Named Sue."  Forty-odd years later, I *still* flinch when I have to say it, and repeat it, and spell it multiple times to people.  (At Starbucks, I'm usually "Ann" or "Jane" -- it's easier.)

* Maybe because I have a strange name, I'm a little superstitious about the power of names.  If you've read Ursula LeGuin's Earthsea series (which I heartily recommend), you know that

in Earthsea, the true name of a person has power, and a wizard can wield total power over someone whose name he knows. Consequently, any person guards his true name closely, and only shares it with those whom he or she can totally trust.

In-story, this means that people who use their True Names openly (like our Richard Weir) are so awesomely badass, they don't care what bad juju a wizard could work with their name. 

* Frankly, the anonymity has helped me be more open about some things.  Open to the point I sometimes feel I should apologize to the rest of the Forum for getting so personal!  (That's my streak of tight-lipped New England Yankee heritage emerging.)

But please don't let my neuroses set the standard for anyone else!  At this point, I stick to being "Sunflower" mostly out of habit.  If any of you ever want to get in touch IRL (say, if you're visiting Northern California and would like a friendly local guide), I'd even divulge my Sekrit Mundane Identity.   

[Solovei]

* I have an unusual name (thanks, Mom and Dad) that is A) easy to Google and B) dorky.  When I was a kid, it was worse than being "A Boy Named Sue."  Forty-odd years later, I *still* flinch when I have to say it, and repeat it, and spell it multiple times to people.  (At Starbucks, I'm usually "Ann" or "Jane" -- it's easier.)

I too have a Special Starbucks Name! Because while my name isn't THAT hard to spell, I tend to mumble when I talk and coffee shops are noisy places that tend to have lineups, so it's easy to just throw out "Alex" and not keep everyone waiting with my not-common-in-North-America name.

[Lenny]

* I have an unusual name (thanks, Mom and Dad) that is A) easy to Google and B) dorky.  When I was a kid, it was worse than being "A Boy Named Sue."  Forty-odd years later, I *still* flinch when I have to say it, and repeat it, and spell it multiple times to people.  (At Starbucks, I'm usually "Ann" or "Jane" -- it's easier.)

Same here! It's a Dutch name, that is spelt similarly as an English name, but pronounced completely differently (and also containing an umlaut that no Australian ever remembers to insert, even on official documents ;;_;; I was so happy when my aRTD book arrived with my name on the address spelt completely correctly). So instead I have a nick-name that I insist everyone use instead, because at least they can pronounce that. And I just try not to flinch when people pronounce my last name.

[Nimphy]

I am much more likely to associate online people with scents or textures than associative images, personally. I think of Piney as the scent of... Hm. Less pine than juniper, actually. Yeah, exactly juniper now I think of it: a little bit of pine, a little bit of sharp fruit (not quite citrus but close, almost like ozone), and something warm and herbaceous and spicy.

... And I am only saying that because it's way past my bedtime and I can't sleeeeeeeep *sobs*

I associate people ntd contexts with a particular... Feeling. Every context or person gives me a... Well, a feeling, it's different. So I'm likely to associate Piney with the particular feeling she has, and that feeling is made of all senses (quiet vs. Noisy; light vs. Dark; etc.)

[mithrysc]

I too have a Special Starbucks Name! Because while my name isn't THAT hard to spell, I tend to mumble when I talk and coffee shops are noisy places that tend to have lineups, so it's easy to just throw out "Alex" and not keep everyone waiting with my not-common-in-North-America name.

Or something like this will happen, right?

My Real-Life first name's like that too...it's one of the lesser known spelling variants of the name, so even my own relatives spell it wrong.

I associate people ntd contexts with a particular... Feeling. Every context or person gives me a... Well, a feeling, it's different. So I'm likely to associate Piney with the particular feeling she has, and that feeling is made of all senses (quiet vs. Noisy; light vs. Dark; etc.)

I...sort of do that too. *fails at describing further*

[JoB]

is there a general "we should all be anonymous thing" going on in this forum, or is it just some people?

* shrug * I'm protecting people's personally identifiable information (PII), in the form of data on the computers I admin, for a living. I wouldn't be eligible for that job if I were the "full disclosure" type there, I guess.

[Piney]

I think pineapples are awesome so it's not a negative thing! It's just the "piney". The rest of the time I imagine you exactly as your avatar, which looks female to me!

But...it's Emil...

I am much more likely to associate online people with scents or textures than associative images, personally. I think of Piney as the scent of... Hm. Less pine than juniper, actually. Yeah, exactly juniper now I think of it: a little bit of pine, a little bit of sharp fruit (not quite citrus but close, almost like ozone), and something warm and herbaceous and spicy.

Wow that's specific! I wish I smelled like that.

I'm most likely to associate someone with their avatar, so I'd normally get someone might confuse my gender in that regard.

* I have an unusual name (thanks, Mom and Dad) that is A) easy to Google and B) dorky.  When I was a kid, it was worse than being "A Boy Named Sue."  Forty-odd years later, I *still* flinch when I have to say it, and repeat it, and spell it multiple times to people.  (At Starbucks, I'm usually "Ann" or "Jane" -- it's easier.)

My name's not hard to spell, but there are three different ways to spell it. (I usually get the version without the silent letter on the end. Even my friends do it.) As for my last name, don't even get me started. It's super-easy to spell, but there's a much more common surname that's [my surname] + 's'... Even if they  have only seen it written, almost everyone I've ever met calls me the version with the s. 

[P__]

But...it's Emil...

but your pic is much less manly than mine

[Piney]

but your pic is much less manly than mine

"Manly"... riiiight...
_{(Okay, I do draw people a bit androgynously)}