dreamwidth and naming

[redbird]

I've been looking at trying out dreamwidth (it's an site, using an LJ code fork, designed to fix/improve some of the annoying things about either the LJ code or the management of this site).

bugshaw has kindly sent me an invite code, so I don't have to wait until the end of April.

So, I've been thinking about names. I've been using redbird here partly because it was the name I used on ElderMOO, and partly because my first name was taken, and I try to avoid online identities that require people to remember how to spell my surname. But this is still in beta, and I may have more choices.

So, a quick poll:

[Poll #1382180]

Comments

[don-fitch.livejournal.com]

Learning & remembering one name/handle for a person is difficult enough, though it's generally possible to manage a second/OnLine one. More than that, however, seems to be getting unmanageably close to Multiple Personality confusion, or to overcrowding the finite-sized lumber-room of my memory.

[nancylebov.livejournal.com]

I vote for redbird unless you have a strong preference for being generally known as vicki.

If I've only been seeing someone for years on line, their handle becomes easier to remember than their name-- and I bet you've got people who only know you as redbird.

[abostick59.livejournal.com]

"Redbird" is gambler's slang for a $5 casino chip. Maybe it's just me, but I've always thought the handle made you sound cheap.

Re: dreamwidth and naming

[pir-anha.livejournal.com]

two-letter userIDs are sexy. :)

but i really like redbird, and i don't have alanbostick's associations with it. (piranha is brazilian slang for streetwalker, so what the heck.)

the only one i don't much like is vicki, because i know too many of them.

not that this ought to actually influence you! use whatever speaks to you most. or flip a coin. :)