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Real Names Please. There are heaps of Real Name User Advantages. Real Names Only Or Anonymous should be able to cover most needs of a wiki contributor. See for example, Signed Witha Purpose.
The following Q&A is compiled for newcomers and veterans alike.
Q: Why can't we use Nick Names ?
A: In general, it is observed that people who use online nicknames care less about what they write. The discussion is usually taken more seriously when people do not use Nick Names, but use their real names.
Q: Who came up with this rule?
A: This page has existed for quite some time despite the fact that anyone here can edit or delete it. This means a significant portion of the Wiki Community agree that this site not take on the tone of other communities where fake names are used. Wiki participants generally prefer the idea that they are communicating with real people much as they would in Real Life.
Q: OK, but I could use any real-looking name instead! You will not even notice.
A: We simply trust that you will not do this. Some participants, both new and old, don't like to reveal their identity when editing. The easiest way to keep your identity out of the conversation is to avoid giving your words/edits any attribution at all. To distinguish voices it generally suffices to switch between italics and normal case. Does it? Yes.
Q: I have a name on my birth certificate, one I use online and another which my friends tend to call me. Which one is my real name?
A: Generally, you are expected to use some recognizable variation of your legal name. There are very occasional exceptions to this rule, however. For example, see Taral Dragon, Phl Ip, Ri Ver, or Torne Wuff. Note that in almost all cases their real names are easy to find. The distinction is we prefer names that are primary, invested, and permanent. The disposable names cause flak.
Some Wiki Zens with online identities sign their contributions with both their real and online names, e.g. "Chris Purcell (Krit Ter)".
Q: I don't want to be completely anonymous, but I have a very good reason why I want to use a pseudonym instead of my real name.
A: As noted above, exceptions may ultimately be tolerated. If people write Real Names Please on your user page, it is because they assume you are unaware of this convention, and they are trying to be helpful. If you understand the rule and still want to use a different name, despite the objections, nobody is going to stop you from doing so. Please review the Real Names Please Discussion, note your reasoning on your Wiki Home Page (to prevent later Real Names Please requests), and please try to be as respectful of the community's wishes as you would like it to be of yours. Whatever your reasons, don't use somebody else's real name, and use One Name Please.
Q: Despite this warning I wish to continue to use a pseudo name.
A: The Real Names Please convention on Wiki Wiki is both well-established as a Wiki Social Norms and expected by a lot of Wikizens. Continuing to flout this convention after a Real Names Please warning can be considered to be Wiki Trolling (see Troll Definition) by some Wiki Zens. It may even motivate some to start the undesirable procedure of Refactor Mercilessly.
[Hrm. This answer seems to contradict the previous answer... Which is it? Are informed violations of this rule tolerated, or are they "trollish behaviour?"] There are a few well-established users for which switching to a real name would merely confuse people (ie Phl Ip). Nicknames for new users are heavily discouraged.
Peer pressure is not a rational argument, and this answer (and the whole page) basically boils down to "We, the (ironically, unnamed) subgroup" want this to be how it is, so everyone should fit in or face our disdain". That's nowhere near good enough, I'm afraid. The definition of "name" here is arbitrary and irrational given the lack of proof needed to back up any real-sounding name. The Internet is global, eternal, and searchable and websites can not reasonably expect to use the same rules of communication that suffice for face-to-face or localized and possibly ephemeral communication.
{There's no intent to prove that a "real" name is real. The intent of this page is to avoid the taint of juvenile "fanboi"-ism that typical Internet pseudonyms, for better or worse, tend to engender. If you don't want to use your real Real Name, that's fine, but at least use a made-up real-sounding name (if you're going to use a name at all) so that we appear to be a serious forum about software development rather than a nerdy chat forum of pale, pimply-faced teenagers calling themselves DarkDragon and ArcturionTheWarrior whilst they argue about computers from their parents' basements. Use of names is largely in the same spirit as academic journals -- in which contributors use their real names or real-seeming pseudonyms -- to which Wards Wiki adds to the option of using no name at all.}
In rare instances community members use a Real Name, a pseudo name and sometimes mixed with Ip Username (which is anonymous). In one example the person uses the Real Name when he offers a "considered opinion", or when he requests information from other community members. The pseudonym is often used to let other regulars know he is online editing pages, as he has more than one IP address, and more than one person from that address have used Wards Wiki.
Q: I have an Online Name that I use regularly; it is a name that is "primary, invested, and permanent" and certainly not disposable. My real name is easy to find. Yet I am not Taral Dragon, Phl Ip, Ri Ver, or Torne Wuff (or Uncle Bob, for that matter). How do I convince the community that my Online Name qualifies for the aforementioned exception? Or are the above-mentioned folks only allowed to use a nickname due to an unwritten Grandfather Clause, a privilege unavailable to newer Wiki Zens?
A: [Be discreet, spell correctly, ... and fit in... then it's probably okay.] There is no need to convince the community. The community will ultimately respect your wish to use any name you choose, particularly if it respects your contributions and can tell that you have understood the community's normal practice but choose not to follow it. If you "battle" for the "right" to use a name that is not real, some sectors of the community may object to this as trollish behavior. If, however, you politely decline to adopt this practice whilst continuing to make valuable contributions, the community as a whole will support you against petty-minded persecution, albeit somewhat reluctantly.
Q: But I have seen people using things like Anonymous Donor, Positive One or White Hat. These are not real names, are they?
A: No. Positive One and White Hat are examples of Dramatic Identity. Dramatic Identity As User Name is not an accepted social norm. These should not be used as User Names for Recent Changes, and only rarely to sign contributions. They are understood to be dramatic identities usable by any author. [Anonymous Donor is meaningless, redundant, and confusing. -- Anonymous Donor. I find it handy. -- Anonymous Donor. Better to use italics instead. Oh, thanks, I see what you mean. You're welcome.]
A: Unsigned is OK, fake name is not. See To Sign Or Not To Sign.
Q: Please Comment. I use Real Name, Ip Username, and Dramatic Identity depending on situation. Realname when I may want my homepage changed for messages, Ip Username when I don't want unnecessary interaction (e.g. confirming a delete started by others), and Dramatic Identity (one that probably no-one else wants to use) so other Recent Changes Junkies can continue a dialog with me on a subject matter. I do not find reasons why other reasonable person would object to this. Ip Username is often used as a last resort.
A: Use One Name Please for signing contributions; this should be your real name. As for whether To Sign Or Not To Sign: leave unsigned if you prefer. Use Dramatic Identity, if appropriate, with either signed or unsigned contributions. User Names that appear in Recent Changes etc should be either your real name or your IP address.
I suggest using IP address in Recent Changes is not as good as a Dramatic Identity that is only used by one person. This is because a quick visual inspection of the Recent Changes can tell immediately whether a frequent visitor is around, whereas an Ip Username is often used by more than one person, especially when accessed through a large IP provider. -- dl
I suggest that a Dramatic Identity only used by one person is a pseudonym, not a dramatic identity. If a visitor wants to be recognized, they might as well use their user name. If they want to be harder to recognize, they shouldn't. Anything else, they should weigh the trade offs of the former with the later with respect to their goal and choose one.
Perhaps you are unaware that my homepage, and now my pseudonym page, have been used as places of dialogue between third parties. I am a "regular visitor" now, but I do not want any more time to track who is using which IP, and therefore want to spare other people the same headache. A pseudonym serves as an adequate middle ground between a Real Name and a Ip Username. For example, you can refer to me by Microsoft Slave, but it is much harder for me to refer you as pcp01023415pcs.panamc01.fl.comcast.net. For all I know tomorrow you may be coming in as a different Ip Username.
A real world example for the usefulness of Real Names Please is given on <-> Wiki Bank Open Negotiation, where real persons and real money is involved -- Fridemar Pache
Discussion moved to Pseudonymity And Honesty.
See User Name, Real Names Please Discussion, Subtleties Of User Names, Pseudonymity With Untraceability, Real Names Only Or Anonymous, No Real Names Please
See original on c2.com 