futile…
what’s only a bit different from fraught 
Some of you if not all are on Facebook, google etc. The “Net” even knows the size of your shoes. Finding telephone numbers from every one of you is dead easy. My name and surname is splattered over the Net. And you feel safe here? Better talk about flutes now. Had a mighty session in Ghent. Oops now you know where I live 
Yesterday I had a communication suggesting I wish my sister a happy birthday. I know that her birthday is not January 1st, but U.S. Cloud applications insist on a birthday, while security advisors tell you not (necessarily) to enter your correct birthdate, so as to foil identity theft.
My address is not on FB, nor is my phone number. The internets may have a cluster of information on me, but some of it is contradictory and a portion of it is inaccurate.
For the purposes if this forum I use an alias. I have three aliases I use on the internets, for different purposes. These are not sock-puppets, as I have only one identity on any forum or social network.
If real names are an issue for you, I suggest you pm anyone whose real name you wish to know. If they don’t reply in a satisfactory way you could have the pleasure of blocking them.
And in a spirit of mysticism, I suggest that perhaps Innocent Bystander is my real name, although not my family or given name, but the name that reflects who I really am. 
My name was put upon me, my name on the left was one I chose. Somehow I got the nickname ID.
O.K. guys lets close this post. Nuff said. People who want to use nick names (Innocent bystander?) can do as they please. My plea obviously didn’t get much support on the matter and its really of no real importance. Use whatever name you want but would you please use your full name and surname in future when you PM me? 
All the best to every-one on this forum.
Yours sincerely,
Ronnie Bracke
Ya know, that seems a fair enough request to me. Personally, I’ll respond to anybody. But it does make me feel warmer towards someone, and more inclined to help - beyond that assistance which is required of me, of course - if I know who I’m talking to.
Mind, you still have to accept that fact that some people will not accede to that request either. And that’s their prerogative.
Me, I’ll go on using my cryptic pseudonym. Nobody will ever guess who I am.
“Name?”
“Don’t tell him, Pike!”
I’m with Ben. I like knowing who I’m talking to.
This goes double when folks start staking out dogmatic positions or going way out on a rhetorical limb. It’s natural to wonder just who the opinionated person is, not just name but what sort of experience or education their perspective is based on, especially regarding whether they just talk about flutes online or actually play one with any degree of understanding.
I say have the courage of your convictions - use your real name!
Rob
Even if folks don’t want to use their real/full names, it is often useful to know where posters are located (at least generally); particularly when there are references to nearby shops and sessions or in the FS/FT listings.
Best wishes.
Steve
I don’t think I am allowed to use my real name, having been banned so often.
b-b-but you have so many banned names!
A badge of distinction, no doubt.
I think I tried long ago to get my C&F name changed, but to no avail. I guess the boss and the mods want consistency on the board: your first chosen “name” is yours for life; that’s it.
‘I guess the boss and the mods want consistency on the board: your first chosen “name” is yours for life; that’s it.’
No, there are folks who used their real name, stormed off in a snit, and have returned under a nickname that I believe
the mods knew from the outset. Also, there have been individuals posting under several different identities at the same time–though here the different postings were coming from different computers.
Personally I’ve got nothing against nicknames per se. I think Rob’s point is a good one–if you are going to voice
strong opinions and/or get personal, it’s probably better to use your own name (or at least to clearly identify yourself
by name in the post).
Mine has been this way for >2000 posts.
i don’t hide behind a moniker or mask or subtitle or avatar.
my opinion is my own and am unafraid to own up to it.
my suspicion is many people feel protected by a code name or handle and believe they can write as they please with impunity. of course, that’s b.s. in libel/slander law, but what the hey.
As a user on this board for so very very long, i’ve seen more than my share of anonymous mudslinging and criticism.
I’m always of the belief that if you have something to say, be “man” enough (person enough?) to stand up to it by using your real name.Otherwise, keep your opinion to yourself seeing as it’s little more than a whisper from the corner of a darkened room.
I’ve had my name out front every single day of a 30-year newspaper career.
As they say: Truth is the ultimate defense. And opinions, though like a–holes and everyone has one, are still a first amendment right in this country – and pretty much on the internet for anyone worldwide. It takes a lot to prove and win a slander or, in the case of the written word, libel case.
You know who I am…and where to find me…just as I know the same about you. And if you think I don’t or couldn’t (or anyone else out there)…I really have a nice bridge to sell you.
I’m with Ronnie. We’re grownups here. leave the childish behavior to the kids.
dm
I just don’t see what difference it makes. When I PM I do seem to use my first name in the signature, but here I am 10-t. Several people on the board know my legal contract name, but that was for business or identification. What is a name other than a label? It is who you are, after that the name disappears. Knew a deaf woman, her name looked like “stupid”. She was elegant, graceful and smart. If I saw her today I would still spell out her name…
And yes, David Migoya we know who you are, an excellent fife player that went onto something else.
My name has no such weight.
Standards of privacy vary from place to place, culture to culture, and individual to individual. Chiffboard users are free to choose a username that reveals as much or as little about themselves as they care to and feel comfortable with. Including the use of real names or not. How people name themselves off-board or elsewhere on the internet is none of our concern. It’s really as simple as that.
We do encourage people to (optionally) fill in the Profile field Location, at least approximately, as a point of cultural/regional reference to facilitate communication on an international board.
Anyway, enough.