4 ms·

That's a good idea and I've thought about it but I think many feel attached to their usernames and account history "15 yeas with.." site X. And sites often balk

That's a good idea and I've thought about it but I think many feel attached to their usernames and account history "15 yeas with.." site X. And sites often balk and say "username or email already has an account here". It's a bit funny since alias was meant to hide who you were or at least make ire less formal than a person's full name. Then I go and use my name for an alias!

yreg 4y ago
The "don't use your real name on the internet" advice wasn't great. When I set up a Google account as a kid I used a made up handle because all the adults told me to not use my name on the internet. Decades later and it's still my main account and I often need to either switch accounts to the one with my real name or embarassingly ask people to invite my nickname account to various shared documents, calendars, etc. No way to migrate my YouTube channel either…
- adolph 4y ago
  In the time that has passed since that advice better name generators have been developed so you don't have to make something up. https://github.com/moby/moby/blob/master/pkg/namesgenerator/names-generator.go https://github.com/moby/moby/blob/master/pkg/namesgenerator/...
- Dalewyn 4y ago
  What's embarrassing about a nickname? Having a disconnected online entity means less-than-pleasant jackasses can't pull something from years or even decades ago, put it out of context, and proceed to troll your life. Not putting your real life identity on public display for the world to see means you maintain tighter control over how, when, and where your information gets out. Do you really need your real name, face, place of employment, telephone number, email address (with your name in it), and maybe even your home address publicized? More than likely you don't. Having online identities disconnected from real life means you can use them to safeguard your actually really-fucking-important real life things. Your bank account? Use an email that uses a nickname instead of your real name so any would be hackers have to second guess your email too. Worst comes to shove and shit hits the fan, you can throw away an online identity and make another one. You can't throw away your real name and face. There are nothing but benefits by keeping your online and real life identities separate, and if you ask me it's one of the first steps to being truly internet literate.
  - unglaublich 4y ago
    ponyomelette69@hotmail.com begs to differ.
  - yreg 4y ago
    Using a weird nickname for professional things seems strange to me. I would rather use my name.
    - hgsgm 4y ago
      You can use a neutral nickname.
    - propogandist 4y ago
      buy a domain name (~$9/yr) and get managed e-mail provider that supports wildcard emails (~$50/yr). Now you have unlimited email options.
      - yreg 4y ago
        I have that and do that, but it doesn't solve the Google Drive thing.
        propogandist 4y ago
        You can create a new Google account tied to your domain and use that to collaborate with others. You can elect to stop using Gmail and your old nickname, unless I’ve missed something.
        yreg 4y ago
        That would mean losing everything that cannot be migrated. (Not meaning that it would be gone, but that it would no longer be in the account I use.) I don't want that.
  - pbhjpbhj 4y ago
    I assume that Reddit keeps a list of IP addresses and advertising buyers can correlate them with data from other sources to associates accounts with real people. Presumably, a Reddit leak means even more opportunity to unmask (dox) users who have responded truthfully to threads that say things like "what's the worst thing you ever did". Lots of blackmail opportunities.

yreg 4y ago

The "don't use your real name on the internet" advice wasn't great. When I set up a Google account as a kid I used a made up handle because all the adults told me to not use my name on the internet. Decades later and it's still my main account and I often need to either switch accounts to the one with my real name or embarassingly ask people to invite my nickname account to various shared documents, calendars, etc. No way to migrate my YouTube channel either…

adolph 4y ago
In the time that has passed since that advice better name generators have been developed so you don't have to make something up. https://github.com/moby/moby/blob/master/pkg/namesgenerator/names-generator.go https://github.com/moby/moby/blob/master/pkg/namesgenerator/...
Dalewyn 4y ago
What's embarrassing about a nickname? Having a disconnected online entity means less-than-pleasant jackasses can't pull something from years or even decades ago, put it out of context, and proceed to troll your life. Not putting your real life identity on public display for the world to see means you maintain tighter control over how, when, and where your information gets out. Do you really need your real name, face, place of employment, telephone number, email address (with your name in it), and maybe even your home address publicized? More than likely you don't. Having online identities disconnected from real life means you can use them to safeguard your actually really-fucking-important real life things. Your bank account? Use an email that uses a nickname instead of your real name so any would be hackers have to second guess your email too. Worst comes to shove and shit hits the fan, you can throw away an online identity and make another one. You can't throw away your real name and face. There are nothing but benefits by keeping your online and real life identities separate, and if you ask me it's one of the first steps to being truly internet literate.
- unglaublich 4y ago
  ponyomelette69@hotmail.com begs to differ.
- yreg 4y ago
  Using a weird nickname for professional things seems strange to me. I would rather use my name.
  - hgsgm 4y ago
    You can use a neutral nickname.
  - propogandist 4y ago
    buy a domain name (~$9/yr) and get managed e-mail provider that supports wildcard emails (~$50/yr). Now you have unlimited email options.
    - yreg 4y ago
      I have that and do that, but it doesn't solve the Google Drive thing.
      - propogandist 4y ago
        You can create a new Google account tied to your domain and use that to collaborate with others. You can elect to stop using Gmail and your old nickname, unless I’ve missed something.
        yreg 4y ago
        That would mean losing everything that cannot be migrated. (Not meaning that it would be gone, but that it would no longer be in the account I use.) I don't want that.
- pbhjpbhj 4y ago
  I assume that Reddit keeps a list of IP addresses and advertising buyers can correlate them with data from other sources to associates accounts with real people. Presumably, a Reddit leak means even more opportunity to unmask (dox) users who have responded truthfully to threads that say things like "what's the worst thing you ever did". Lots of blackmail opportunities.