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Why use pseudonyms?
RichardH
Veteran
I'm new to online forums and appreciate the sharing and learning I have found. The one thing I do not understand though is the use of pseudonyms, particularly on Buddhist sites. We are real people ( I'm talking in the conventional sense not the absolute....ok) with real lives, why not just be that? This isnt a judgment of those who choose anonymity, I just do not understand the reason.
Maybe some folks could explain the reason? Thank you:)
Maybe some folks could explain the reason? Thank you:)
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Comments
Buddhist group sites are still places which can be viewed by the public. As a single woman, I would feel far too vunerable if I used my real name.
Kind regards.
Dazzle
What does anonymity provide?
Hi Richard
I was given my pseudonym originally as a nickname by a boyfriend I met online many moons ago . It just kind of stuck..:) I sort of associate Medusa with being my 'online' self . However, that does not preclude me from discussing and sharing my 'real life' on forums,(probably too freely actually!).
I tend to use Medusa as my on screen name initially; but willingly disclose my true identity as soon as it seems appropriate or useful.
And for the record.. I am Lesley from Milton Keynes
Pleased to meet you.;)
The Internet and its inhabitants are not to be trifled with. Part of my decision is that I have (the luxury of) little concern for potential employers and a maximum appreciation for the deep crap I can get myself in by being so open.
Also, it reminds me that we occasionally, out of convention or necessity, occasionally present ourselves to different people, on different occasions, in different ways.....whilst discussions of duality, self- and not-self rage, we should all remember that due to attachment, we are all pretty complex... and thereby hangs a discussion of its own.
I frequent other forums where anonymity is encouraged due to personal safety, responsibility for personal privacy as well as that of those associated with us, and to prevent too many people occasionally sharing the same names and causing confusion....
Know what I mean, John....?;)
Mainly, its a safety issue, im a woman, so its safer not to give out your name.
Also its nice to have an 'online identity'. Its you, online
My online name is because i love Japanese culture, Geisha, martial arts ect.
Its a 'japanesey' theme name.
You call yourself something you think reflects your interests maybe
Anyway. Its nice to meet you all by any name.:)
I am less open on sites that I don't run myself!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troll_%28Internet%29
Nice to meet you Lincoln.
1. It's FUN!! And there's nothing wrong with that.
2. Our "Christian" names (sic) don't always represent our true selves - especially if we have developed new faiths and beliefs in life, our old names may have worn out. What's the harm in developing a new fresh identity?
3. Often when folks are ordained, they assume a new name anyway - consider this as a practice :]
4. It's FUN!!
5. People take on pseudonames in all walks of life - as musicians, DJs, artists, singers, authors, in sports, in role-playing games, and what have you - so what could possibly be wrong with doing it on online forums?
6. It's FUN!!
Your name "Richard" is just as arbitrary as "sambodhi" or "federica".
Please. That's almost as good as believing that Al Gore invented the Internet.
I live in Toronto with my partner Jennifer and son William who has mild autism. We have had to deal with cancer this year and a challenging art market ( improving thank goodness) We have a weiner dog named Dapple who is, I'm ashamed to say, very neurotic because we have babied her so much. Our Sangha is the Theravada Buddhist Community of Toronto a Thai Forest Lay Sangha in the lineage of Ajahn Cha. I took refuge under Samu Sunim in 1990 or there abouts..... Thats about it.
The only reason Ive heard that make sense for anonymity are, fear for safety, concern for being seen unfavourably by a prospective boss as......a Buddhist... I guess, and for fun.
Still I respect your choice and it is good to meet you by the name you choose. This is just my honest view on the matter, and once I get use to this culture maybe this view will change. I hope we can get to know each other.
Well, as a bona-fide dog behaviourist, I can help (or should that be bonio-fido?)
Dogs are never too old to learn, and in fact, pick up new and correctly-established behavioural modifications at the click of a finger.
It's the humans that take a while....:rolleyes:
so as to not steer the topic off, if you want help, let me know.
I'll leave it there.
It also affords freedom to talk about things one wouldn't while hanging around the water cooler. Bouts of depression, for instance.
Federica
I mean who on earth comes to an internet forum to read opinions? Well, people who want to read opinions of course. you want opinions; there's no shortage on the internet. Who wants to be noticed most? hmm
This isn't like the terminator where someone gets picked out arbitrarily from a phone directory and hunted down.
If you're gonna annoy someone do it in real life, or by proxy if you're a coward. Online, people are often separated by oceans, highways, hedges and bogs and stuff. Real obstacles, that take unwanted effort.
Places like this are here to provide a community spirit, something which of late is getting lost in the shopping culture. You know- community- a sort of extended family where everyone bounces off one another.
How many have you had? Even my given and inherited name are not static. Brought up half in French, half in English, neither has a fixed nature or pronunciation. To my teachers, I was called by my surname, which was my father's before me but not my grandfather's as Pa changed it in 1919 to avoid anti-German sentiment. My brother called me "Salmon" when a baby but I was "Simon" (never "Si" until I moved to Gloucestershire) for most of my life. My wives, children and grandchildren have called me many things, some of them repeatable and agreeable.
So who am I? Am I what will appear on my tombstone? I am certainly not who I appear to be on my birth certificate because that was changed "by order of the Registrar General" when I was legitimised.
I am all these and more; all these and less too.
Does anyone else remember the scene in David Lean's Lawrence of Arabia with its discussion about names?
Completely off topic..but I love your username. It makes me giggle everytime I see it.
Had to laugh...:D
know just how you feel! I darent ask Federica for any tips either because it would mean having to tell her the full extent of my dogs weirdness!:eek::eek:
He is a Golden Retriever..which apparently accounts for at least half his issues!
As for names, I use a long standing pseudonym which I've used publicly, and I which I use as a persona when I publish my poetry and other writing. I also use my real name. I was just updating a family tree that my son was working on and I realized that of my 7 siblings and myself, only 2 of us retained the same name spelling that we had in the land of our birth (the Netherlands) while the rest of us anglicized the spelling when the family immigrated to Canada!
Pieta
"Tis but thy name that is my enemy;
Thou art thyself, though not a Montague.
What's Montague? it is nor hand, nor foot,
Nor arm, nor face, nor any other part
Belonging to a man. O, be some other name!
What's in a name? that which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet;
So Romeo would, were he not Romeo call'd,
Retain that dear perfection which he owes
Without that title. Romeo, doff thy name,
And for that name which is no part of thee
Take all myself."
i even go as far as not revealing my gender, and i keep my location to very general areas ... its about safety and about privacy..
non of us here really knows who is behind the names and i think its better to be safe and not to use reall identities
I've had lots of names, some of which can even be printed in public places! The one I use here is my actual (Buddhist) name, part of my ordination name (the full thing is Thubten Rinchen Palzang, which is a bit of a mouthful). It actually feels more like my real name than my real name. I even dream it.
Of course, I've had nicknames aplenty, including Boomer, Pzang, Zippy (!), even Frog. Having different names is kind of fun actually as they each seem to bring out different aspects of my personality. I've had a number of refuge names as well. I can't even remember them all! But, as was said long ago, a rose by any other name is still a rose...
No, I don't remember the scene in Lawrence of Arabia. What was it?
BTW, I have a question: do my stupid puns and jokes qualify me as a troll?! :eek: Oh, I hope not (or do I?)!
Palzang