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Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!ucbvax!brahms!gsmith
From: gsmith@brahms.BERKELEY.EDU (Gene Ward Smith)
Newsgroups: net.singles
Subject: Re: "Pretend" names and aliases
Message-ID: <12525@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU>
Date: Fri, 21-Mar-86 07:14:30 EST
Article-I.D.: ucbvax.12525
Posted: Fri Mar 21 07:14:30 1986
Date-Received: Sat, 22-Mar-86 22:38:23 EST
Sender: usenet@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU
Reply-To: gsmith@brahms.BERKELEY.EDU (Gene Ward Smith)
Organization: University of California, Berkeley
Lines: 34

In article <33@unisoft.UUCP> tim@unisoft.UUCP (Tim Bessie) writes:

>In article <712@osiris.UUCP> jcp@osiris.UUCP (Jody Patilla) writes:

>>	I am interested in other people's opinions about something that
>>is pretty common among net people, and that is the use of famous names
>>from fiction or from D&D campaigns and the like. What brought it to
>>name is also a fictional character. There are also all the Princess
>>My reaction would be to assume that the person would seem to be fairly
>>immature but maybe that's not so. Comments, anyone ? [JODY PATILLA]
>
>     To tell you the truth, the kind if name-use you've described
>here has always made me *sick*!  I was a BBS/Arpa/pick-one hacker

>     When I started using USENET, I thought I'd left all that behind.  I
>didn't mind cutsey names like 'snoopy,' etc, because they weren't pretentious,
>and had little to do, seemingly, with the posters' actual personalities,
>real or imagined.  Then, I suddenly started seeing more of the old-style
>handles ("Lord of the Nether Regions of the Fiery Realm," etc. (gag)),
>And it brings back old feelings to see this... I get images of greasy-
>haired, pimply kids, sitting in a darkened room scattered with D&D stuff,
>posters, old pizza, comix w/busty women on the covers, etc.  They are
>hunched over a terminal, grunting, giggling, whining, etc... talking and
[TIM BESSIE]

    I think a person who uses a name like "Gene Ward Smith" is probably
a boring, unimaginative clod. I would much rather read postings by
"Lady Godiva", "Queen Susan and Prince Caspian of Narnia", etc. This
expresses much more personality and style; and the "real" name of a
poster is irrelevant anyway.

ucbvax!brahms!gsmith    Gene Ward Smith/UCB Math Dept/Berkeley CA 94720
        Fifty flippant frogs / Walked by on flippered feet
    And with their slime they made the time / Unnaturally fleet.