Username and why we use them ?

i love having a username. i feel uneasy giving my birth name to many people i don't know. even if they are trust worthy like most of these Jedi here. but i agree with anyone who says that we should use our real names for hiding behind a false name could mean that you are hiding behind a false personality.

Alexandre Orion is who I am.

usually i use initials or part of my real name as a username so that i still get the personal identity and also so that i will be easily recognized by my friend who might also be apart of a website or community that i am a member of but some sites where i don't deem so safe or i don't really know anyone personal i tend to use a username far from my real one for safety purposes and so that i can also keep my real name in private. although i don't give much thought to those names, only the first one that pops in my mind.

A new venture, a new name. Totally made up on the spur of the moment but its growing on me.

I use a username to preserve the barrier between the virtual world and the material world. From my Facebook URL to forum accounts and beyond I tend to be William Kaede. It's a play on my real name. William is my middle name and Kaede is a Japanisation of an anagram of my real name. Keady -> Kayde -> Kaede.

It's recogniseable by those who know me and in a few of my social groups I'm known by Will when there's more than one Michael who don't use nicknames. I also get called Pirate, because of my occasional wearing of a pirate costume in day to day life, and because I like pirate folk metal. I also receive 'Chaplain' as a self-labelled nickname because of my theological studies and my being an atheist minister.

My user name provides me with a sense of security, and also gives others a small view into who I am because I haven't really been here long. First Impressions and all that.

My first name is a mash-up of my real first and last name just as a general identifier.
The second name is actually Latin for justice, I have it tattooed on my arm as well.

I like to think that I am always on the side of justice, or at least always striving to achieve it.

So my username is a mask, but it is a mask that still allows you to see who I am (to a certain extent of course).

When I was younger I used many different handles. From about eighteen to twenty four the same one stuck. A few years ago I just stopped bothering, Barrera is my family name; often I'll just give my first if its open.

I read an article a few years ago about how there is little disconnect between a persons internet persona and who they really are. In essence the article stated that the 'you' that is presented to the world on a day to day basis is actually the 'fake' you and you are most honest on the internet where there is less of a fear of reprisal if you act like a horses butt. :laugh:

Once I realized this was true I said I'd try to be more honest in both sphere and decided to stop with the handles.

Personally, I think that a username can say more about a person than their IRL name. The reasons for choosing it are often a reflection of the persona that the owner wishes to portray, and both the name itself and what's said under it can give you a better sense of the individual behind the screen than "JohnSmith25637" or something.

+1 to maintaining personal security online as well.

I chose the name Masque because my legal name is not really who I am. My legal name is just a mask for my inner self, therefore being Masque gives me a sense of identity amongst those who are also seeking themselves.

On my path, I want to discover me for myself, not be defined by my legal name. So Masque was created.

I chose desolous because there were like 5 revan variants already, and I needed something unique. Plus it has the 'desolate' or 'desolation' connotation, and I like that. No, its not so obvious like 'cuz its desolate, like my soulllllll' that would be juvenile.

Side note: my girlfriend and I say that all the time: something something something, like my soullllll........ex- 'its dark in here, like my soulllllll.'