RMweb Premium cctransuk Posted September 15, 2015 RMweb Premium Share Posted September 15, 2015 ........... but I wish this convention of using Web names could discontinue. It would be really nice to know whom one was communicating with. Well said - I couldn't agree more !!! I made the same point not so long ago, and the only mitigating post that I can recall was along the lines that 'my clients might connect me with my posts, otherwise' - which I couldn't really follow ! Surely, if you feel strongly enough about anything enough to post here, you should have the courage of your convictions to be associated with your missive ? I, for one, would really like to read a single convincing reason for not posting under one's real name - please do regard this as a challenge ! Regards, John Isherwood. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Kazmierczak Posted September 15, 2015 Share Posted September 15, 2015 So why don't you post under your name John, rather than cctransuk? An avatar picture would be nice too. Regards, Peter Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horsetan Posted September 15, 2015 Share Posted September 15, 2015 ....An avatar picture would be nice too..... Why does yours look a bit like Richard Gere? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Kazmierczak Posted September 15, 2015 Share Posted September 15, 2015 Some of us are just blessed Horse........... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 15, 2015 Share Posted September 15, 2015 I, for one, would really like to read a single convincing reason for not posting under one's real name - please do regard this as a challenge ! You get fewer death threats if you're anonymous. I'm only slightly joking here. I believe I have mentioned on here that I once worked at a pharmaceutical company and went on a letter bomb spotting course. There are plenty of examples where someone has inadvertently said something to upset the internet and their life has been a misery for the next two years. (apparently the internet bears grudges for two years) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold beast66606 Posted September 15, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted September 15, 2015 I can say the Internet bears grudges for a lot longer than 2 years - well some of the Internet does, it's not Gone in 60 Seconds like the film title. I don't disguise who I am and am fairly well known around some areas of the exhibition circuit - and the utter tosh (polite word for it) I have had to endure for the last few years due to certain individuals (and it's always a few who will go to any lengths to stir up trouble) is not something I would wish on anyone. If I was starting again I would use a pseudonym. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium cctransuk Posted September 15, 2015 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted September 15, 2015 So why don't you post under your name John, rather than cctransuk? An avatar picture would be nice too. Regards, Peter Peter, cctransuk is a user name with a wider facility than just this group, and is a subtle indicator of my other activities. I ALWAYS sign my postings C. J. Isherwood or John Isherwood - why would I not ? Avatar picture? I've never really understood the value of these. I'm not active on the exhibition circuit; I don't belong to any clubs; so the only value of an avatar image would be in an entirely chance meeting with a fellow member. The few members that I have had the pleasure to meet know my ugly mug, anyway !! Regards, John Isherwood. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium cctransuk Posted September 15, 2015 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted September 15, 2015 So why don't you post under your name John, rather than cctransuk? An avatar picture would be nice too. Regards, Peter cctransuk is a standard user name that I use for discussion groups - when I joined it simply didn't occur to me that I could use my real name. Is it possible to change one's user name? If I can find out how to do it, I'll change from cctransuk to John Isherwood. There doesn't seem to be such a facility under Profile. Regards, John Isherwood. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenton Posted September 15, 2015 Share Posted September 15, 2015 Anyone who publishes their identity and personal details on the internet is just asking for trouble. There are very good reasons why anonymity is good practice and it may have a great deal to do with current employment and certainly has a lot to do with future employment. The first port of call of ny prospective employer will be to enter your name in Google (as an example of one) search engine. My position is the exact opposite of the OP. I seriously question the motive of anyone who needs to know my identity. That includes my place of residence and birth date. It has nothing to do with hiding behind an identity - how is the web to cope with several hundred John Smith (I know of at least 5 other people with the same name as myself and when it comes down to just simply initials my family are all the same. (even pets - a bit of a tradition going back generations). If I say something on the forum that is illegal and offensive under the law I am sure the site Admin can point the legal folk in the right direction. Besides I have been Kenton for so long people should know what to expect. (I'd be the same name on Facecrook and Twiddler but some interloper has taken them along with my real name (yet another reason for not using them) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allegheny1600 Posted September 15, 2015 Share Posted September 15, 2015 Sometimes our username is a very personal thing indeed! My own is from when I was very passionate about the Chesapeake and Ohio railroad in the USA and is the name and class number of the largest, heaviest and most powerful reciprocating steam loco ever (not the longest!) and I still love the real thing very much. My avatar IS me, with a much more attractive machine that shows one thing I am passionate about nowadays! You don't wanna see my ugly mug up close, you'll spit your coffee out, ha, ha!!! I usually sign off as simply John E. if a few know me, John if I feel I am better known or as, Cheers, John Edge. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horsetan Posted September 15, 2015 Share Posted September 15, 2015 Anyone who publishes their identity and personal details goes on the internet is just asking for trouble...... This is much more your line of thinking, is it not? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
brianthesnail96 Posted September 15, 2015 Share Posted September 15, 2015 Interestingly, my boss admitted that he'd googled my name to try and find some "dirt" on me after my CV had been shortlisted for interview. He failed, despite the fact that we later found out that there are two or three internet forums (classic vehicle related) that we both posted on! In that case it would most likely have been an advantage had he managed to track me down, but I admit I do prefer a degree of anonymity. I've been brianthesnail96 for years over various fora (and my email) and there are people that know me as Brian (or, in one case, Brain- Mike is dyslexic...), so I'm not that anonymous really. My girlfriend has a fairly unusual name, her boss had clearly done the same thing but with more success since he asked her why she used to have bright blue hair... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baby Deltic Posted September 15, 2015 Share Posted September 15, 2015 I think I'll start signing my postings just so other members know who I am. B. Deltic Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisf Posted September 15, 2015 Share Posted September 15, 2015 I shall keep my disguise, thanks. I was known as Chris F at work principally because there was also a Chris H and decided that this was as good a form of address as any. Here I am 'chrisf' because there is or was a 'Chris F' in Arizona. Yes, the mistake has been made. I wonder if there are some inmates who use their real names because they cannot come up with a satisfactory screen name? Chris See below for my real name ... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Echo Posted September 15, 2015 Share Posted September 15, 2015 I think this sums up the issue perfectly.............. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold PaulRhB Posted September 15, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted September 15, 2015 principally because there was also a Chris H ... Chris T got a lot of attention though and his name comes up all over the net! I'm Paul, most misspell or pronounce my surname wrong so my favourite railway provides my easier to remember forum surname. I'm known to many as Paul S or Tall Paul including work so as far as I'm concerned my first name is sufficient If I get talking to people and we continue to keep in touch them they get to know my surname but in railway circles PaulRhB makes me easier to recognise as I've used it for years. I have friends who struggle to remember the real surname as they just don't use it. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Gwiwer Posted September 15, 2015 RMweb Premium Share Posted September 15, 2015 The avatar is me, yes, though it's a few years old now. The moniker is one I use widely and also a name I am sometimes called by in real life. I seek to hide nothing. My first name is attached to every post I make here. My full identity is known to those who need to know. I do not wish to be sought out for my opinions, associations and beliefs by anyone via unsolicited Googling and am quite content to allow my current or any prospective employers both a fruitless search and the chance to interview me in person to get their answers. On the basis that what goes on the web stays on the web I neither need nor wish to use my full actual name here nor elsewhere. Those who are among my Farcebook friends will also be aware that my actual surname is not used there either. It might be their policy that users go by their real names but a great many do not and at least I'm not "Fido_de-Bonemonger" and am an actual human It is my choice that I also use the name Gwiwer in connection with my photography. Aside from watermarking images which appear here and on other sites there is also a business under development and while I shall have to disclose my full details to meet the requirements of the law once that goes live the nickname will remain for all other practical purposes. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derekstuart Posted September 15, 2015 Share Posted September 15, 2015 I am Brian. And so is my wife. (with apologies to anyone who hasn't seen TLOB yet- I'm not married to a woman named Brian really. She is in fact called Bob- which is short for Kate (with further apologies to anyone who has not seen Blackadder II- I'm not married to a woman named Bob either)) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
edcayton Posted September 15, 2015 Share Posted September 15, 2015 Ed is a "given" name, not the one given by my parents, but given by a school friend. It is, however, the name by which the people who know me know me, if that makes sense. I do prefer it to the original, which is the "official" one for banks, the NHS etc. As an aside, on two occasions when I have been hospitalised I have been asked my name and what I would prefer to be called. I said "Ed" and it was duly noted. Nobody called me Ed, all used the original. I gave up. I apologise to any real Ed Caytons, none of which I know of. Ed Further apologies for ending on a preposition Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wombatofludham Posted September 15, 2015 Share Posted September 15, 2015 I don't mind pseudonyms. Mine came about through frustration at the constant mis-pronunciation of my surname "Wiles" as "Willies". I mean, do you drive at a speed limit measured in Millies per hour? So, taking my cue from "Tingha and Tucker" and the character "Willie Wombat", and living in the Norfolk village of Ludham at the time, I became "Wombatofludham". Whilst I am not a furry, mischievous mammal with a temper when provoked (some might disagree with that though) nor living any more in Ludham, I'm just too fat and lazy to change it. A bit like a Wombat in fact. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ParkeNd Posted September 15, 2015 Share Posted September 15, 2015 Using real names would make little difference to knowing who you are communicating with. Just look at the stats - we are communicating with 97%+ who just read and don't post any response (the ultimate in anonymity) and under 3% who post. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium cctransuk Posted September 15, 2015 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted September 15, 2015 Anyone who publishes their identity and personal details on the internet is just asking for trouble. ......................... There are very good reasons why anonymity is good practice and it may have a great deal to do with current employment and certainly has a lot to do with future employment. The first port of call of ny prospective employer will be to enter your name in Google (as an example of one) search engine. This has not been my experience at all. I started using the internet seriously in 1999 when I set up Cambridge Custom Transfers. My web-site publishes my name and postal address, my e-mail address, plus the details of the bank account that I use to receive BACS payments. I post to a number of discussion groups and sign the postings with my real name. In the past fifteen-plus years I have suffered no personal abuse, identity cloning, or adverse effects on my career; (when I was working). I also fail to understand why there is this phobia about current or prospective employers discovering that one is a member of a model railway discussion group - the hobby is not illegal, is it ? Call me naive - but the internet doesn't scare me !! Regards, John Isherwood. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete_mcfarlane Posted September 15, 2015 Share Posted September 15, 2015 I also fail to understand why there is this phobia about current or prospective employers discovering that one is a member of a model railway discussion group - the hobby is not illegal, is it ? I guess it depends on the employer - you might get the odd (in both senses) small businessman who holds it against you for some weird reason, but would a corporate HR department care? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Kazmierczak Posted September 15, 2015 Share Posted September 15, 2015 At least when cold callers ring me, as they can't pronounce my surname correctly, I can honestly say that person isn't here. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
LNER4479 Posted September 15, 2015 Share Posted September 15, 2015 As the unwitting owner of the thread (Grantham) that started this discussion may I be permitted to respond? Both reasons why I prefer a User Name that isn't my real name have already been stated but I will restate them here as my reasons: No.1 - security. We 'came out' in a big way at the weekend with Grantham's first outing at a model railway exhibition as a full layout and we are at four shows next year (the details of which are in my signature). Over the weekend we had nothing but positive comments (which was of course very pleasant and encouraging) and all wore name badges with our first names clearly visible. There was only one awkward moment when someone (who I didn't know from Adam) asked me how much the layout was worth. I'm absolutely convinced that it was asked in all innocence; I of course replied in a polite, non-committal manner. But you never know who says what to whom in a pub and who may be over-hearing the conversation and I don't want to find myself at the wrong end of a 'stolen to order' incident - particularly when the vast majority of the stock (which is the 'attractive' part of the layout) doesn't belong to me. No doubt you will argue that if people really want to find out ... well, yes, I accept that - but I don't want to make it any easier for them. I do have layout insurance - but that's not the point. And please PLEASE let's be very clear: I am not for one moment casting aspersions on any of my friends and other active contributors on this marvellous site. BUT, it only takes one, anonymous, unscrupulous individual who's put two and two together to silently surf a public website... No.2 - Professional identity. Not actually the reason why I choose not to openly use my full name (my Boss happens to be more than interested and I have been known to show him the thread ... during a lunch hour of course!) but I do know of others whose employers have strict codes of conduct regarding use of public websites, etc. I therefore absolutely respect their reasons for not wishing the link between their personal and professional lives to be made in this way. It has absolutely NOTHING to do with hiding behind a pseudonym so that I can throw brickbats and think I can get away with it! I can only sign off by saying what a fantastic website this is, how my joining of it has transformed the fortunes of my own particular project through the great new friends I've subsequently made and that I am fully committed to continuing to contribute to it in the way I have done in the three years I've been a part of it so far - as LNER4479. (If you really want to know my first name and you haven't spotted it already in my thread, then just take the middle 'NT' out of the place name of the layout!) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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