Anonymity

I say maybe people have their own reasons??? And really..it isn't THAT hard to figure people out anyway, if you really want to know who they are.

Mr. Wilson said:

How does everyone else feel about it?

I figure that I have nothing to hide and people don't want to play games gussing whether someone posting is serious or not.

Just seems to me that the people who need that cloak of anonymity are disingenuous and can't really be taken seriously.

What say you?

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I think as LS said, most people that live in your area that know you will figure it out. However, I do like the different names as it adds some character to this forum. I also think your posting your name "Mr. Wilson" in effect adds a nice touch. Just the name sounds good.

You need more choices. My opinion matches none of the above.

It's just a nick

It's just a nick, thats all. Perhaps some use it to hide.

I am sure this will be another mole hill turned into a mountain by the time this thread is done.

Hal said:

You need more choices. My opinion matches none of the above.

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Great post Dave but I'm with Hal need more choices.

I do like scene names, but they can be used in a derogatory fashion, as we all know. I do feel that some people use them to hide and start trouble..Trolls and all, but for the most part they are fun and a way of showing ones personality.

Eydie

PS Dave check your PM's

Mr. Wilson said:

How does everyone else feel about it?

I figure that I have nothing to hide and people don't want to play games gussing whether someone posting is serious or not.

Just seems to me that the people who need that cloak of anonymity are disingenuous and can't really be taken seriously.

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What I say is that there are enough crazies out there that very well could use a regular name and then have 5 aliases and multiple personalities that you'll never know about. So what difference does it make. I've seen it happen too often...and then they play one against another or ally with one another to make it seem like there is a commonality through numbers or go on attacks in mass.
(I might be crazy...but there are NO other aliases coming outta here...I just happen to make "drivers" and those in the know and who can be TRUSTED know my REAL name)

Yeah, I don't use Jimmy Mendoza because I don't want you Internet nutballs to know who I am. That's why I use Jimmy M..

Mr. Wilson said:

How does everyone else feel about it?

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The username ID came about for security sake. It's a good idea, identity theft and all. I've been using my real name for so long, I figure changing to an anonymous username is too late.

I don't think anyone who chooses to use an anonymous name is necessarily hiding from anything.

Fred

Jimmy M. said:

Yeah, I don't use Jimmy Mendoza because I don't want you Internet nutballs to know who I am. That's why I use Jimmy M..

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Don't worry Jimmy, your secret is good with me....

Fred Agnir said:

I don't think anyone who chooses to use an anonymous name is necessarily hiding from anything.

Fred

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Fred posted for me, as usual. I voted for the secret agent, choices given, just to skew the results. sorry.

I think the anonymous posters are the same as the non-anonymous posters - some are credible, some are full of hot air.

Having said that, I am all in favor of anonymity for everyone except the pro's. I think the line between pool fan and internet-psycho-stalker-guy is exceedingly fine (perhaps non-existent in my case) - I'm willing to weigh posts on their merit (not by their author).

FWIW, I have met many AZB'ers, and I have NOT ONCE been in any way surprised by their personality or character - they have been exactly the people they have portrayed themselves on the forum. I also have been EXTREMELY impressed with the knowledge, ability, and enthusiasm shown by several of the anonymous posters (you guys know who you are). All in all I have had only good experiences once the veil of anonymity was drawn.

P.S. - now if I can just figure out who that JimmyM is, everything will be fine - oh well, I guess some mysteries will just never be solved.

Hal said:

You need more choices. My opinion matches none of the above.

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I would fall into this category as well, we need more choices damn it!

Love your AVATAR

Tons'O'fun said:

Don't want their posts to appear in a "name" Google search.

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Could careless about Google, plus remembering a Handle is difficult.....

Mr. Wilson said:

Security, fear....etc....I think are all cop outs to protect the names of people who feel that they can be total losers on the net.

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I disagree. I used to post on a racing forum (I told ya'll I was a redneck ) using a screen name. I didn't act any different than I do here using my real name. This was yrs ago & it didn't even cross my mind to use my real name. I would probably have a screen name here if it weren't for Mike Templeton. It's when I saw him using his real name that it occured to me. It's common to use a screen name, not your real name. The more I thought about it, the more I liked the idea. I came here in hopes to meet new people, keep in touch with people I already knew on here and also to make it easier for people in my pool life from both SC & TX to find me as I've lost touch with most.

I think some people might've used their real name had it crossed their mnd when they signed up. Some people use their nickname which they might be called in person as opposed to their real name. Some might be quite popular/famous in the pool world and would rather just be treated as a regular person. Others are just more private people than some of us. I can think of many people on this board, SJM being a prime example of someone that has a screen name but has been nothing but positive and beneficial to the game and this forum. The only time I have a problem with people using screen names is when they hide behind it in order to constantly be ignorant. The trolls, flamers, immature idiots that they are. They're cowards... we know it and they know it. Having a screen name doesn't make one a bad person. Abusing the anonymity of it to show your ass makes one a coward, idiot, moron, immature asshole without a hair on their ass or balls to back up their ignorant rants.

Mr. Wilson said:

Give it a whirl.

I challenge you ( or anyone ), based on the availble info, which is plenty, to find and report what you can about me.

It is a discourtesy ( down right rude ) to hide who you are when trying to converse with a community such as this. It's just your name. Not ashamed of it, right?

If anyone were in a pool room with total strangers, nobody would be trying to hide their identity behind a stupid screen name, would they?

Security, fear....etc....I think are all cop outs to protect the names of people who feel that they can be total losers on the net.

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You are naive.

Timberly said:

I think some people might've used their real name had it crossed their mnd when they signed up. Some people use their nickname which they might be called in person as opposed to their real name. Some might be quite popular/famous in the pool world and would rather just be treated as a regular person. Others are just more private people than some of us. I can think of many people on this board, SJM being a prime example of someone that has a screen name but has been nothing but positive and beneficial to the game and this forum. The only time I have a problem with people using screen names is when they hide behind it in order to constantly be ignorant. The trolls, flamers, immature idiots that they are. They're cowards... we know it and they know it. Having a screen name doesn't make one a bad person. Abusing the anonymity of it to show your ass makes one a coward, idiot, moron, immature asshole without a hair on their ass or balls to back up their ignorant rants.

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I agree with Timberly. Not all people who post anonymously on forums or newsgroups are ignorant. As she said, some posters are popular/famous in the pool world and would prefer to be treated as a regular person when they come to a forum or a newsgroup to make a contribution. Other anonymous users tend to be private people.

Granted, it is unfortunate that there are some that do post under a handle only to start fights. The crapfest that hit the fan on this forum some time ago is a prime example of abuse of the anonymous priviledge.

Now I'd like to address what "Mr. Wilson" said regarding an alias at the pool room.... your statement that players don't use an alias in the poolroom is quite wrong. There are plenty of players out there who do use an alias in the poolroom. It's been my experience that most tend to be road players, however they may also be tournament players. One notable example would be Efren Reyes. When he came here and won the Red's 9-ball tournament in the 80's, he entered under an alias, that being Cesar Morales.

In conclusion, I think someone like "Mr. Wilson" should learn to recognize that a poster is entitled to privacy. Yes it is frustrating when someone comes in under an anonymous handle to instigate a controversy or flamefest but the best thing to do is to just ignore that person and just carry on.