Online Identity
This is just a thought I felt I wanted to write about. And thought that this would be a good place to do it.
My name is Daniel. It's the name my mother gave me when I was a baby. It's the name she liked and one that I went by almost all my life (in highschool I started just going by Dan).
This is who I am. Or at least the name that defines what I am to normally be called.
However, this is not my only identity.
One of the most well known historical alternate identities was the Pen Name. A name that a writer would go by rather than their own to save persecution or harassment for their works. This is what some would say is the origins of what we do now when online.
Online we take on the name and/or roll of someone or something else. Depending on the medium this could be any number of things.
For a forum or IRC, often people choose unique "nick names" to go by. I have gone by m0rtis (IRC and LJ), Rulesninja (AIM and Gmail) and mortis2600 (almost everything else). These are ways to identify who I am on the internet. It's the names I've given myself. But in most cases, the people I talk to on these social media outlets still know me as Dan. They know that Dan is also m0rtis/rulesninja/mortis2600, so when they say my name in conversation it's always Dan.
World of Warcraft (WoW) and other MMOs of the same format differs from this. Your identity is based on what character you play at the time. I have several characters; Conwolv, Trogdoar and Moopheus (I also play klubwerks Priest Renelle from time to time). When I am on those characters (toons) I am that persona. When I'm on the VoIP service Ventrilo either in my guild or in a Vent server for a PuG (pick up group) and I am addressed, it's almost always by my character I'm playing or by the one that most everyone knows me as (Conwolv.. or shortened, Con).
Additionally, when I'm in the general chat room of WoW (trade chat) my attitude in terms of how I reply to people is also affected. Knowing I'm on my main that everyone on my realm knows, I tend to be more cautious of my replies not wanting to tarnish a hard earned reputation for this character and his guild, but when I'm on an Alt (one of the other toons) I am less restrained when I want to call someone a bad player for one thing or another.
All these names are still me. I'm Still Dan, but I'm also all of these personas. The name one goes by is an interesting topic for me. I hope the thoughts were interesting to you too.
My name is Daniel. It's the name my mother gave me when I was a baby. It's the name she liked and one that I went by almost all my life (in highschool I started just going by Dan).
This is who I am. Or at least the name that defines what I am to normally be called.
However, this is not my only identity.
One of the most well known historical alternate identities was the Pen Name. A name that a writer would go by rather than their own to save persecution or harassment for their works. This is what some would say is the origins of what we do now when online.
Online we take on the name and/or roll of someone or something else. Depending on the medium this could be any number of things.
For a forum or IRC, often people choose unique "nick names" to go by. I have gone by m0rtis (IRC and LJ), Rulesninja (AIM and Gmail) and mortis2600 (almost everything else). These are ways to identify who I am on the internet. It's the names I've given myself. But in most cases, the people I talk to on these social media outlets still know me as Dan. They know that Dan is also m0rtis/rulesninja/mortis2600, so when they say my name in conversation it's always Dan.
World of Warcraft (WoW) and other MMOs of the same format differs from this. Your identity is based on what character you play at the time. I have several characters; Conwolv, Trogdoar and Moopheus (I also play klubwerks Priest Renelle from time to time). When I am on those characters (toons) I am that persona. When I'm on the VoIP service Ventrilo either in my guild or in a Vent server for a PuG (pick up group) and I am addressed, it's almost always by my character I'm playing or by the one that most everyone knows me as (Conwolv.. or shortened, Con).
Additionally, when I'm in the general chat room of WoW (trade chat) my attitude in terms of how I reply to people is also affected. Knowing I'm on my main that everyone on my realm knows, I tend to be more cautious of my replies not wanting to tarnish a hard earned reputation for this character and his guild, but when I'm on an Alt (one of the other toons) I am less restrained when I want to call someone a bad player for one thing or another.
All these names are still me. I'm Still Dan, but I'm also all of these personas. The name one goes by is an interesting topic for me. I hope the thoughts were interesting to you too.