What is the appeal of keeping up several identities on the web? Here on AOL, I can have as many as seven screen names. Well, I have one, my wife has one, my son has one... If I wanted, I could have four more for myself.
A few years ago, I regularly maintained two, and dabbled with a third, but the appeal grew cold. Today, I use one screen name. I still have those other two set up, but I'm not sure that I can remember the passwords to them.
I just don't understand what drives a person to maintain several screen names at once, or to keep changing their screen name over and over. Is it a simple case of moving on once one has burned too many bridges? Once you've pissed off enough people, you need to come up with a new name because too many people are no longer accepting e-mails from you? Somebody enlighten me.
Is this an AOL thing, or does it happen out on the larger world wide web? Do people flip through hotmail addresses the same way they do AOL screen names? These day I prefer to work under one single screen name for everything I do online. If I piss someone off and they decide to block my e-mails, so be it. I'm not going to make up a new e-mail address just to go on harassing them with impunity. It just isn't that important. But then again, I'm not a teenager any more, either. In two weeks I'll be forty. I guess at some point the kiddie games become old.
Plus, I can't think of a single thing I might do or say that I'd like to disown. If I'm going to express an opinion, I want you to know it's coming from me, not some anonymous Internet mask wearer. If you don't like it, fine. That is your prerogative. If you want to tell me so, fine. I'm not hiding behind a fake identity. E-mail addresses I have blocked: zero. Screen names I have blocked from commenting in my journal: zero. Sure, I might delete your comment, and report your ass if it contravenes TOS guidelines, but comment away. I'm not afraid of what anyone has to say.
edit: Ok, so I lied. I do remember the passwords for them, because they're the same as the password for this one. I use the ftp space of them to post family photos for my relatives to retrieve. I do not use them to post to message boards or send e-mail. If I'm sending you an e-mail, you're gonna know who it's from.
13 comments:
the comment I started to write here threatened to be as long as your posting, so I'd better just post it myself. Short version: screen names are handy for compartmentalizing your life. My original screen name referred to Quantum Leap, my second to Doctor Who. A third was for my L'Engle FAQ and bibliography, a fourth for tracking eBay transactions. One interest, one screen name. Simple. It gives you more FTP space, and makes it easier to track down that email from two years ago that related to THIS part of your life. Now I tend to ignore all the old parts of my life, and concentrate on the compartment for writing and blogging and school - Mavarin. The other screen names lie fallow for months or years. But, unlike many bloggers and online avatars, I am positively confessional in identifying myself, regardless of screen name.
Oh, and another reason people change screen names and email addresses is to try to stay ahead of the spam.
Karen Funk Blocher (see?)
Your post title reminds me of one of my favourite oxymorons:
'eschew obfuscation'
Happy almost-Birthday!
Simon
http://simianfarmer.blogs.com
I only keep one myself Paul. It's too confusing trying to keep up with my different personalities. heh!
Seriously, I only change when AOL cancels my account and I have to open another. LOL
I personally have two accounts. One for work, family, friends. This name, I made specifically for my journal. I have no desire for clients, family and friends to read my daily musings. I find a level of comfort in anonymous meandering. At the risk of ruffling potential feathers, my guess would be constant changing of identifies is the result of far to much one dimension attraction to the world of the Internet, upsetting others is a form of personal entertainment and fun can be found in new and bold ways to pick at others. It would be nice to claim this is only done on a mere teenage level, but I'm not naive enough to think adults aren't up to that type of mischievous antics. Internet is illusion at it's finest. I guess it comes down to how seriously you take it.
Rebecca
Paul, I've got 3 screen names for myself right now, but for purely practical reasons. This is my main one, but I have another one for the earthmother's cupboard web site and the third one is for my penny pinchers journal & Fly Lady e-mails. Keeping them all separate helps me keep them organized---also, I was afraid of spreading my FTP space too thin.
If you have multiple personalities ... y'think AOL will try to find a way to charge you twice?
I'm simply not clever enough to change screen names. I've had AOL for 7 years now, and the same ole' SN.... I recall thinking about adding a new SN a couple years back for use on ebay, but for me KISS principle applies!!!
Penny
Well, Paul if you had two screen names that you admit that you maintained a couple of years ago (and dabbled with a third), then you must know at least one reason why people have more than one screen name.
I don't mind people having more than one as long as there isn't a sinister reason for using a hidden identity.
Also, all you would have to do to get rid of those 2 screen names that you have set up but can't remember the screen name for is go to the master account and delete those 2 screen names. Simple as that.
I have a lot of screen names for various reasons. Some are to control mail. One name is for online ordering, one is for friends and family only, one is for AOL mail and message board use and a couple are blocked from all mail and are unknown to most people I know so I can be only without being bothered with IMs. I also want to make sure I use all the names AOL allows so I can take advantage of the ftp space for my 2 photoblogs on AOL.
Hmmm... This is my main AOL screenname.. and I've had it since like '94. G. Has a screenname... Morgan (the dog..don't ask <g>) has a screenname. I also have a screenname that I made up when I tried doing some online survey stuff-- that stuff just generates so much spam that I didn't want it in my main account <LOL>... I understand having several screennames to keep some things seperate, like a family name and a work name, but I don't understand the whole make a screenname, make people angry, delete screenname, create new screenname thing...... and, when one of a person's screenames 'talks' to another of a person's screennames... welll!!!!!!! That's just wrong <ROFL>
http://journals.aol.com/astaryth/AdventuresofanEclecticMind
just checking to see if you blocked me lol just kidding of course ;)
and at least now i know your sign !!
the real one of course
pamela
What is, Personality Disorders?
P.
I don't think of my SNs as identities, but as drawers in a big online filing cabinet. I use one SN for genealogy mailing lists, links, files and research. I use this SN for visiting forums and posting to things like this journal. I have a 3rd SN (the master SN) for online bill paying, purchasing, banking, and serious things like that. A previous poster was right about how multiple screen names help to "compartmentalize" and organize our various online activities.
Oh, and I rarely chat online because I don't type very fast :)
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