Stop this 'name change' nonsense

[phyllo]

You are not your name.

[iambiguous]

But it's a way to confuse folks regarding all the silly things you say. Who exactly is saying what in the "name change" game? Me, I never change mine. As Mo will point out, "Iam doesn't say what he thinks he means about some things because sometimes he knows he can't really mean what he says anyway".

Except ironically.

I taught him that.

[Amorphos]

For me there is something about talking to someone under a new name, which makes them seem disingenuous.

For some strange reason I actually think I get to know people somewhat, if they change their name and start acting differently then naturally I feel I don’t know who I’m talking to. Usually you can tell who they are after a while [or very quickly with joker lol], but I don’t see the point? Or in double accounts for that matter.

[phyllo]

Now posts which refer to a poster by name make no sense unless you know the poster's original name.

Pezer, what were your reasons for posting this? I liked it, by the way, because I agreed with a lot of what Stephan Fry said.

But do you think what he said showed that he's confused about philosophy, or that you're confused by what he said?

What's a pezer?

[Stoic Guardian]

I don't know? Whats an SG?

[phyllo]

When reading a post, it's easier to derive Stoic Guardian from SG than it is to get FilmSnob from Pezer.

[Stoic Guardian]

When reading a post, it's easier to derive Stoic Guardian from SG than it is to get FilmSnob from Pezer.

Well he had the courtesy to put Ex-Pezer under it.

[Gobbo]

They can change our names but they can never take our freeeedom.

[fuse]

A username is a shallow cover; how it's perceived and what it means depend on how it's worn. The deepness of meaning that we might attribute to particular usernames comes not from the name itself but from the persona we associate with it. Sometimes a person can feel stuck with a particular persona and the set of expectations that seem to accompany it and so seek to change things like a name in order to change the persona. (Other ways of circumventing the issue include altering the people one hangs around or the routine places one inhabits.) If it's really the persona itself that's become burdensome, then changing the name associated with the persona doesn't directly confront the issue.

Emerson talks about the burden of dragging "about this corpse of your memory" in which one has outlined a sketch of himself and which the pressure of expectation reinforces, even to the point of compulsion. Consistency isn't always a great thing, although we are often compelled to behave with utter consistency.

The other terror that scares us from self-trust is our consistency; a reverence for our past act or word, because the eyes of others have no other data for computing our orbit than our past acts, and we are loath to disappoint them.

But why should you keep your head over your shoulder? Why drag about this corpse of your memory, lest you contradict somewhat you have stated in this or that public place? Suppose you should contradict yourself; what then? It seems to be a rule of wisdom never to rely on your memory alone, scarcely even in acts of pure memory, but to bring the past for judgment into the thousand-eyed present, and live ever in a new day. In your metaphysics you have denied personality to the Deity: yet when the devout motions of the soul come, yield to them heart and life, though they should clothe God with shape and color. Leave your theory, as Joseph his coat in the hand of the harlot, and flee.

A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines. With consistency a great soul has simply nothing to do. He may as well concern himself with his shadow on the wall. Speak what you think now in hard words, and to-morrow speak what to-morrow thinks in hard words again, though it contradict every thing you said to-day.--'Ah, so you shall be sure to be misunderstood.'--Is it so bad, then, to be misunderstood? Pythagoras was misunderstood, and Socrates, and Jesus, and Luther, and Copernicus, and Galileo, and Newton, and every pure and wise spirit that ever took flesh. To be great is to be misunderstood.

"fuse" doesn't need to be a completely consistent persona. He can bend, and change, and experiment -- not as a calculated scheme (as a troll), but as a person who changes opinions and behavior based on new information and experience. I don't need to change my moniker to denote a change in persona. I am content not to enforce such a rigid structure on "fuse." Less burden and baggage. I take advantage of the fact that meaning is fluid.

[Amorphos]

A username is a shallow cover; how it's perceived and what it means depend on how it's worn. The deepness of meaning that we might attribute to particular usernames comes not from the name itself but from the persona we associate with it. Sometimes a person can feel stuck with a particular persona and the set of expectations that seem to accompany it and so seek to change things like a name in order to change the persona. (Other ways of circumventing the issue include altering the people one hangs around or the routine places one inhabits.) If it's really the persona itself that's become burdensome, then changing the name associated with the persona doesn't directly confront the issue.

Emerson talks about the burden of dragging "about this corpse of your memory" in which one has outlined a sketch of himself and which the pressure of expectation reinforces, even to the point of compulsion. Consistency isn't always a great thing, although we are often compelled to behave with utter consistency.

that’s a very good point! I have changed my name before for those very reasons, though I have kept the same one since I have been here. I sometimes think about changing it, though hadent really considered what was behind that desire in that way.

[Calrid]

You are not your name.

You are not your Job.

I never change my name, changing your name is for imposters.

[Gobbo]

I doubt you believe that.

This thread is funny.

[Flannel Jesus]

I don't think there's a single person on here with his original name. Everybody here has changed their name -- did your mother name you Calrid, Calrid? Any criticism of name-changing applies to everyone in this thread except me -- Flannel Jesus is my birth name.

[fuse]

Any criticism of name-changing applies to everyone in this thread...

That might be true if every criticism of name changing was aimed unconditionally at all name changes. But that's not the case.

[Contra-Nietzsche]

Not only do I think the administrator should swap everyone's name around involuntarily, but also spambots should be given moderator powers.

[MagsJ]

Changing one's user-name is all the rage, and you cannot fight a trend... having said that: I have the original user-name I signed up with way back in November 2006, and I don't have any other accounts neither

[statiktech]

A username is a shallow cover; how it's perceived and what it means depend on how it's worn. The deepness of meaning that we might attribute to particular usernames comes not from the name itself but from the persona we associate with it. Sometimes a person can feel stuck with a particular persona and the set of expectations that seem to accompany it and so seek to change things like a name in order to change the persona. (Other ways of circumventing the issue include altering the people one hangs around or the routine places one inhabits.) If it's really the persona itself that's become burdensome, then changing the name associated with the persona doesn't directly confront the issue.

Emerson talks about the burden of dragging "about this corpse of your memory" in which one has outlined a sketch of himself and which the pressure of expectation reinforces, even to the point of compulsion. Consistency isn't always a great thing, although we are often compelled to behave with utter consistency.

This is an excellent point, and precisely where I get hung up on the issue. We are all dynamic to some degree, even with respect to our 'characters', or projected personas. As we learn and come to certain understandings, we inevitably change; continually adapting. But here, or should I say in places like this, everyone is asserting - establishing a presence before they get stomped out and overlooked. To see someone change, let alone concede to change, is a healthy thing in my mind. I think it's good for the other people here as well. It amounts to a much needed infusion of modesty from time to time, and perhaps even a hint of personal growth. It's alright to err and change, accept it, show it. The shedding of an alias seems obviously symbolic to me, which suggests the issue is a psychological one. Let your name represent the progression of a thinker, rather than what others expect of you. Some of the masks we wear are shallow, I agree, but not always. Some evoke honesty in us. But, it is important to recognize that it isn't the "shallow cover" being honest, or otherwise different, but the person behind it. The mask is superfluous, albeit symbolic [and representative in that sense].

Of course, I also have an admitted respect for people who dare to speculate, change their minds, or admit their errors - and endure it. It's refreshing.

[Gobbo]

I had a girlfriend who would consistently quote that Emmerson passage. Consistently quote it (in response to me fixating on chemtrails at the time) lol. We broke up when I pointed out that it was ironic.

I change my name for much the same reason I change my wallpaper. I get tired of looking at the same stuff.

[fuse]

This is an excellent point, and precisely where I get hung up on the issue. We are all dynamic to some degree, even with respect to our 'characters', or projected personas. As we learn and come to certain understandings, we inevitably change; continually adapting. But here, or should I say in places like this, everyone is asserting - establishing a presence before they get stomped out and overlooked. To see someone change, let alone concede to change, is a healthy thing in my mind. I think it's good for the other people here as well. It amounts to a much needed infusion of modesty from time to time, and perhaps even a hint of personal growth. It's alright to err and change, accept it, show it. The shedding of an alias seems obviously symbolic to me, which suggests the issue is a psychological one. Let your name represent the progression of a thinker, rather than what others expect of you. Some of the masks we wear are shallow, I agree, but not always. Some evoke honesty in us. But, it is important to recognize that it isn't the "shallow cover" being honest, or otherwise different, but the person behind it. The mask is superfluous, albeit symbolic [and representative in that sense].

Of course, I also have an admitted respect for people who dare to speculate, change their minds, or admit their errors - and endure it. It's refreshing.

It's satisfying to hear a few people who understand and agree. I largely agree with your response, too.

[PavlovianModel146]

I don't think there's a single person on here with his original name.

Faust.

Smears (First initial, last name)