I was just wondering how everyone chose the monikers they use on this and other boards and places on the web.

Mine comes from the fact that when I first turned up at Uni, I had long hair and a guitar and was - for my sins - wearing a Bon Jovi T-shirt.

I was immediately christened 'JonBon' by the lads in my Student Hall and the name stuck. Indeed, 7 years later, some of my friends still call me JonBon or JB.

So when it came to choosing a handle for the web, it seemed the natural choice.

What about you lot?

JonBon,

Hehehe, I kinda figured something like that for you

Well, you can look at my profile. I'm a commercially published technology author, freelance writer/editor, and an amateur musician who once was semi-pro. Thinking about messing with that again since I have lots of control over my time now.

I've also done a lot of large computing system programming and administration work, starting around 1980 when IBM and mainframes were kings of the hill. Then I transmuted to a Unix weenie. Then the economy went into the crapper and contracts got hard to find.

This board attracts me because a lot of the members write well and display strong intelligence. Flame fights are kept down by admins. I consider it my daily writing exercise to be enjoyed now and then as a break or to accompany my morning coffee.

How goes the University, or are you out now?

I did a 3 year BA in History which finished in 99, and then a 1 year MA in Medieval British Studies which finsihed at the end of 2000. Since then I've been working to pay off my debts (I was largely self-funded through both degrees) but, all things being equal, I am hoping to return to college in the autumn to start a part time PhD on Race and Ethnicity in Medieval Britain.

So I suppose you could say I'm 'between degrees'

[best Ahnold voice-ON]Because ov mi giant luv muscle[best Ahnold voice-OFF]

Hey! It's worth a shot!

I'm a committed Ultimate Frisbee nut; and being that my name is Joe the girls in residence just starting Ultimate Joe a few years back. The name stuck for me on the internet at least...

my name is unique, not too many people have it, the stupid jubbers on star wars stole my name. But actually juber is my middle name

Justin juber

btw i hate it

My parents owned a bar/restaurant when I was younger, and since our last name is Stottman, it was called "Stotty's" I remember my Dad would take me into work sometimes and sit me in front of the pinball machines with a roll of quarters and a Hershey bar. The 203 is the street address from our house when I was growing up.

Wertz is my surname. Like Juber, I rather hate it, but it's the only one I've got. For what it's worth, while "Wertz" is an actually German name, in my family's case (we have no German ancestry on my father's side), it's actually an Ellis Island-type corruption of a Dutch name, originally van Voorhitz or something like that. In general political forums, I always use my own name. In some entertainment, recreational, and technical forums, life-threateningly partisan forums, and adult chat, I occasionally use Snowcrash (from the novel Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson), though there are a number of peole out there who use the name (or variations) so, should you come across a Snowcrash, don't necessarily presume it's me.

I chose quarkhead for two reasons: the english verb quark means to caw or croak, so it's like a "talking head;" quarks are thought of in physics as fundamental particles in the makeup of matter, and since in other places I have used the name "particlehead," this fits the bill. I have long had an amateur interest in physics. "Quarkhead" is also easier to pronounce than my real name, which has no corresponding sounds or even letters in human speech...

Being a middle-aged mild mannered male from the middle income class with middle of the road points of view that are shared by the majority of Americans who have begun emerging from their 'silent majority' status........it seemed to fit.

I am a pessimistic *** NOTICE: THIS WORD IS AGAINST THE RULES. FAILURE TO REMOVE IT WILL RESULT IN A STRIKE. *** as well as a big Milne fan.

I'm suddenly feeling lame. My first name really is Jaime. Pronounced "Jay-mee" not "Hi-may." (Yes, momof3 named me after Jaime Sommers - the Bionic Woman )

Amazing how a discussion of web-monikers still manages to turn into a political diatribe.

I actually own the domain www.ultimatejoe.com.

Utimatejoe, are you into disc golfing, as well! I am a big disc golfing nut. . .ultimate frisbee is a little too violent for my taste.

I have mentioned this before. . .but just in case you missed it. My web name is Kisov, taken from Primier Kisov. Premier Kisov is a character (although you never see him) in the movie Dr. Strangelove; which happens to be one of my favorite movies.

-Kisov

Mine is a combination of my real name on one of my kids...I made it up but it's pretty close to the real thing.

My original screen name is Dragonfly. I use that one for 'fun' message boards. I use Danya for the serious forums...I would have used my real name but when you meet people and talk about politics and religion you meet a lot of nuts...and I am outspoken enough to wind up with a crazy enemy with my luck so I thought it best to fudge my name a little for safety sake.

I despise Disc Golf. Ultimate Frisbee is my game. That's how I keep wrecking my body.

Sad but Jaime is right. We named her after the bionic woman and spell her name differently from most spellings of the name. We decided when naming her Jaime if we spelt it ( Jamie ) which is a more common way it would be pronounced JAM EE. I thought oh no that would mean her name sounds like jam or it would be sounded like jamees a kids way of saying pajamas.
Sorry Jaime we must have done that illegal pot thing at the time of naming you
I do know that Jaime or Jamie or Jaimie in French means love and she is loved very dearly from me.

my name is self-explanitory:

I'm a patriotic American. I have been very patriotic since 9/11

Musing From The Middle

Just out of interest, do you consider your views to actually be middle of the road, or in other words moderate? From the posts I have read of yours, I would have put you somewhere more towards the right. But I have not been here very long so that could be a false impression.



GoAmerica

Were you not particularly patriotic before the attck on the Twin Towers?

Took the words right out of my mouth. I wonder where HeatherRob is. I'm curious about his name.

In the words of that famous ex-president, 'it all depends how you define middle'.

Actually, I don't mind answering the question but will I get my wrist smacked for being off-topic?

Oh, and another thing while we're at it (being off-topic). Is there a thread on here for just plain old arguing with little 'guidelines'? I ask 'cause it seems to me that a single place like that for venting would help clean up many of the 'real' debate topics. When things got heated or strayed the moderator could say 'take it outside boys' instead of closing the topic. Make sense?

It makes perfect sense to me. I've been angling for such a forum here for some time. Quite often, I feel compelled to respond to something which someone raises, but feel that an appropriate response would be off topic. There's nowhere to take such tangents, especially as they would often not raise a specific debating point on their own. It could be (and has been) argued that such tangents, then, aren't really appropriate to a debating site, but it does leave a lot of frustrating points dangling unchallenged. Such issues could, I suppose be pursued in Casual Conversation, but that doesn't quite seem appropriate to me either. I'll keep you abreast of any developments...

As to arguing with guidelines (which I don't recommend), such issues can be raised in the Comments and Suggestions forum.

No. but i still loved the country but i wasn't gung-ho patriotic like i was afterwards

My name makes no sense. I just thinks it sounds good.

The names that didn't make the cut were:

Butterscotch Nightmare
Kamikaze Lobster
Third Yak
Tapeworm Exodus
Pretzel Station
Ample Swordfish

Izdaari is the name of my main EverQuest character (55th level Enchanter on the Brell Serilis server). It's of pseud--Swahili origin, from the random name generator for the Erudite race. I use it for message boards because I like it, and because I first got into message boards in connection with EQ. On one EQ board (Everlore) I have an absurdly high post count and serve as a moderator.

I shouldn't have to explain to anyone what my handle/nick/webname means

I took a computer class once, about a year and a half ago. The instructer was nuts. He once used the term Digital Warrior to describe me after answering a question correctly ... I liked it, but didn't want to be a warrior...wanted something more patriotic.

In the early days of my surfing ('95) I went by Renegade. But as the Internet grew, so did this nick's popularity. It was almost always taken. :/

A couple of years ago, I came up with a new nick for myself. Zmodem. I won't go into details about what it means as it would take a little while to explain, and my fingers are already cramping :/ Your always welcome to ask though.

Anyhoo, this is the only place where I am known as Digital Patriot. Every other place, it's Zmodem. I tried to register my first name: James, but some dork grabbed it before me :/

--cheers

I was brought up with 12 years of Catholic schooling...
(any condolances duly noted)

I was the kid who perenially asked the priest or religion teacher where it was that god came from and, later, where in the bible it forbade masturbation, why would it forbid masturbation and just how many people the instructor thought would burn in hell for such an offense.

Now that you have the background on the kind of person I am... when we'd attend weekly services I couldn't pay much attention. I never really took any of it seriously. With a wandering imagination and my parents' warped perception of the world I found myself pondering "how in the world did the Christ manage to have amazing washboard abs...?"

Not every depiction of Jesus bestows the savior a six-pack, but it always intrigued me and humored my friends when I brought it up. After joining up with "AOHELL" I thought it would be interesting to see what kind of fun I could have with the name "Abs like Jesus." It's been a fun and interesting ride between people who see the humor and people who tell me about he pain and suffering that awaits me in hell (for blasphemy), but I've decided to keep it for any internet actions which require a moniker -- America's Debate included!

my main reason for unabomber was that it was kind of a messed up name to have (after all he WAS a terrorist) that, and I kinda of like ted kazinski. I appreciate the mental problems he likely dealt/deals with, and his pure hatred for society. too many people talk, talk, talk. he took some initiative and did what he felt was nessecary.

ted is also where I got te inspiration for my location. (different state though)

I sure hope I'm not the only one on this site who hopes you are doing a little chain-yanking here.

Abs



My condolences AND condolements

I never really thought about it before, but now I see Jesus abs all over the place! How absolutely hilarious. The buff deity.

unabomber,

Your little shack is in Colorado???? Whoa, man, I'm not accepting any packages from you! (pssst, watch out for MM, he's a narc )

Pigpen is my husband's callsign. He's an F16 pilot.

Many years ago, long before there was an internet, I made up this name as my "alternate personality." (Yes, I have a very active fantasy life.) The name just seemed to come to me. I realize that it is outrageously romantic. Nowadays, it sounds very New Age or Wiccan.

F-16 pilot? Sweet!! My cousin flys F-14 TomCats!

PigPen for a callsign? Oh Man he must be picked on


Victoria Silverwolf Posted on Mar 17 2003, 05:20 AM


Actually, it kinda sounds Native American

I have a wild imagination as well

Welcome to the board Victoria

Of course, you're a republican.

(Sorry, I just couldn't resist. That's a joke I swear...)

LOL! I don't know about the Navy, but in the Airforce Pigpen is actually a pretty good callsign. There are no 'Mavericks' or 'Icemen'. Names are selected at 'secret' ceremonies where everyone is pretty intoxicated, with all the maturity of a frathouse environment. Most of the names are based on stories of buffoonery, so you can imagine where that goes...By the end of the evening, you're lucky if your callsign isn't unmentionable.

I picked this name because "StudForHire" was already taken...lol


Actually, I picked this name because I'm the lead guitar player for one of the premiere classic rock bands someplace in Ohio. I won't tell you where, but if you really pay attention, you just may be able to figure that out for yourself...

Excuse me while i gag

Just kidding...good to have you here Rocker

Thanks go...I'm glad to have found this place. I feel like I can only be truly informed when I'm not hearing the stuff I want to hear. So, we may not always agree on many topics, but we can agree that I have a seriously weird sense of humor...lol