kyriearashi tagged me, so... (username meme)
Rules: Post the explanation of where your username(s) came from. Then tag TEN users whose explanations you'd like to hear. If you are tagged, then post the explanation to your page.
My username is the name I've used online since ~1987.
Where my online name came from, tl;dr version:
I've always been obsessed with cats. I'd just gotten my first pet cat around the time that a few of my friends got CB radios, so I used "catkeeper" as my CB handle.
In 1984 I signed onto my first BBS. It was generally considered a Very Bad Idea for a woman to use her real name online, so I continued to use catkeeper.
In the mid-late 80s, most of the BBSs I was on started to join networks like FidoNet, at least one of which required that all users of any participating BBS use their real names online. It still wasn't a good idea for women to use their real names online, plus a couple of the BBSs were for the discussion of paganism and people tended to want to remain anonymous. So in practice, most sysops only required that they know your real name, and that your username look like a real name. "Cat" worked, as a nickname for Catherine, but "catkeeper" wasn't going to cut it.
I spent a couple of days trying to think of a family name to pair with Cat. foxcoon was helping me brainstorm, and said "catamaran". I have zero interest in boats, but I immediately loved the sound of it. A thorough investigation of the "M"s in the phone book finally yielded "Moran". "Cat Moran" aka CatMoran aka catmoran passed muster, and it's been my online name ever since.
Since then, I've encountered the occasional Catherine Moran using CatMoran as their online name. But none of them have made a regular practice of it.
Summary: Back in the 80s I wanted a username that started with "Cat" that could pass as a real name. I liked the sound of "catamaran", and found the last name "Moran" in the phone book. Viola.
Tagged:
aphelant, karenbear, kyanoswolf, lachlana, latxcvi, meret, misguidance, novembersnow, oxoniensis, seperis
My username is the name I've used online since ~1987.
Where my online name came from, tl;dr version:
I've always been obsessed with cats. I'd just gotten my first pet cat around the time that a few of my friends got CB radios, so I used "catkeeper" as my CB handle.
In 1984 I signed onto my first BBS. It was generally considered a Very Bad Idea for a woman to use her real name online, so I continued to use catkeeper.
In the mid-late 80s, most of the BBSs I was on started to join networks like FidoNet, at least one of which required that all users of any participating BBS use their real names online. It still wasn't a good idea for women to use their real names online, plus a couple of the BBSs were for the discussion of paganism and people tended to want to remain anonymous. So in practice, most sysops only required that they know your real name, and that your username look like a real name. "Cat" worked, as a nickname for Catherine, but "catkeeper" wasn't going to cut it.
I spent a couple of days trying to think of a family name to pair with Cat. foxcoon was helping me brainstorm, and said "catamaran". I have zero interest in boats, but I immediately loved the sound of it. A thorough investigation of the "M"s in the phone book finally yielded "Moran". "Cat Moran" aka CatMoran aka catmoran passed muster, and it's been my online name ever since.
Since then, I've encountered the occasional Catherine Moran using CatMoran as their online name. But none of them have made a regular practice of it.
Summary: Back in the 80s I wanted a username that started with "Cat" that could pass as a real name. I liked the sound of "catamaran", and found the last name "Moran" in the phone book. Viola.
Tagged:
aphelant, karenbear, kyanoswolf, lachlana, latxcvi, meret, misguidance, novembersnow, oxoniensis, seperis