A couple of links

[owl]

This site, linked to by marionravenwood, reminded me of Pterry saying that entire economies are based on the lifting power of Chinese grannies. Add a bicycle and she's good for an empire!

snarkel posted a link to an article on posting real-life stuff on the internet.
When I first got online, the internet was strictly for fandom. No real name, no what-I-had-for-breakfast, no photos. Then I got onto LJ and discovered the joys of venting about my day. Then my friends all got online too, moved on from emails to social networking sites, so I have ended up with two parallel lots of info online, fandom and real life. (I still haven't put any photos online, naked or otherwise, apart from cats).

At first, I was more concerned about keeping my offline life away from my fandom, but now I suppose I have to keep my fandom away from my real life. I've got a bit careless over the years, too (sending emails to the flist with my full name on the account, stuff like that), and there's a couple of people who've always known about both. But even right back at the beginning, if I wanted to make a disposable identity, it would be my mam's name, my dad's name, my middle names, my nicknames (my family do actually call me Owl)....

The thought of being permanantly Gogglable, in all your teenage glory, is pretty yuckworthy. Then if someone cottons on: 'Oh, wasn't that jediowl's real name? At least someone who's trying to cash in on their fandom in RL, a la Cassandra Claire, asks for it.

I made a poll to check this. I screened comments, so if you feel like posting my name, address and phone number, go ahead. :-P

[Poll #931572]

Comments

[sue-parsons.livejournal.com]

Thing is, I have always wanted to know just your first name. I already know most of my online friends' first names, or at least something they CLAIM is their first name, and it just is....I dunno...."friendlier?" than a madeup screenname. This is probably something folks in my agegroup would be more likely to feel than your peers would, since nothing in our youth would be a referent to online identity.

[ankaret.livejournal.com]

Actually I have no idea what middle names you have, if any, so I'm not sure that counts as a full name.

[lilliburlero.livejournal.com]

I don't know, and I don't really care, either. I have had a couple of "omg it's..." moments on lj, where I've found out who someone is by accident, and I sort of know them, or know of them. But I befriend people for only two reasons:
1)I know them in rl
2)I want to read what they have to say
and in the case of 2), who exactly they might be is irrelevant.
I only read fanfiction, so again, identity is irrelevant, as long as the work interests me.
Personally, I'm not too careful about concealing my identity. I don't post anything I wouldn't say in public (public posts) or say in a muted voice in public (friends-only posts). I keep it private if I'm unsure, and review it later. Similarly, photos -- if I would show them happily to someone I'd only just met, then they can go up, though if there are other people in them I f-lock because they might mind being googlable.

[owl]

I think it counts :D

[owl]

Don't you know it? I could have sworn you did. First forename, or calling name? :-P

[owl]

I never post photos, myself. Only of cats :)

[sue-parsons.livejournal.com]

I know no part of your given name at all. Years ago when I mentioned not knowing it, you seemed to want to keep it secret, so I didn't ask again. No email that you sent me had any part of your real name - most of them were from SODV.