I have noticed most everybody on the site uses their full name as their screen name. I choose to kind of dupe the system by putting my nick name in for my first and last on the addresses.

Ya'll realize that using your full name catalogs that on the internet and makes every post searchable? In other words if someone googles your full name they can see every post you made, the date and time of your post, all the chaff/political stuff, everything.

Personally I don't like that.

Maybe this is just a re-hash of an old discussion. Sorry if it is.

For $19.95 someone can get any information on me they want. I'm just not worried about my posts in the BPL forums.

Besides, when I really want to post something bad, I hack into Nick Gatel's account and post under his name.......

>Besides, when I really want to post something bad, I hack into Nick Gatel's account and post under his name.......


I had a sneaking suspicion. Or what if Doug and Nick are the same person?

When I created my account I didn't know that the info was going to be used like it is. It doesn't bother me too much though. There's a few guys walking around with my name anyway!

Edited by cobberman on 01/24/2012 13:10:35 MST.

Or what if Doug is really Nick, and Nick is Doug?

Years ago I was camping in Oak Creek Canyon in Arizona with my pop-up camper. A friend of mine drove down from Boulder with his camper and we spent a week together with our wives. From a tent trailer forum, we knew a couple from the Phoenix area, but not in person. So they came up to have dinner with us one night. I introduced Bart as Nick, and myself as Bart since they had never seen pictures of us. Interesting, it did not take long for them to figure out the ruse, as our personalities did not match the personas on the Web. It was pretty funny.

Anyway, I am not worried about anything I post, unless one of you find out who my wife is and "rat me out" by sending her links to my posts :(

This should be moved to the swingers forum.

Ty,

I suppose that is good to keep in mind. I've run for office (and won) and anyone who wanted to tie me down on particular issues has (1) only to ask, (2) google anything I've written as a letter to the editor or (3) read my canidate statement. I'm pretty adament about human rights and progressive causes in all venues and everyone knows I like to blow things up, so I don't think anything I put on-line is going to be news to anyone.

I've also run for office and lost but since I just put myself out there, honestly, and collectively they wanted someone/something else, I'm cool with it.

Now if I was a 14-year-old girl portraying myself as a nerdy, 50-year-old backpacker, then I might have a concern.

Full user names are BPL policy.

From the Policy page:

If you choose to participate in our community forums, your first and last names will be associated with your post. We discourage anonymity and encourage integrity in your communications so that your identity fairly reflects your reputation for appropriate communications.


A past post from Addie Bedford:

Hey all! Addie here, and I just wanted to let you know that we post username and full names on forums to avoid the abuses of anonymous posting that we've experienced in the past. When your name is displayed, you are generally more accountable for what you post - less likely to flame, more likely to be thoughtful, etc. We've made a few exceptions for those very concerned about privacy, which is why you'll find folks with initials only...but both the intials and their usernames are displayed. Changing your username is fine, but the catch is that I have to do it for you, so just write me a customer support issue and let me know what you want the new name to be.

Have a great day!
Addie

Hope this helps answer your question,
Lance-

Edited by Lancem on 01/24/2012 14:35:45 MST.

David, re: ". . . everyone knows I like to blow things up"

Well, that'll certainly get you some attention from DHS!!!

Haha.

Yeah I think a lot depends on your career path and point in life. My career has nothing to do with anything I discuss on any forum really so I'd rather just keep private interests private. If an employer googles my full name I want them to see where I have worked, that I have a family, maybe my licenses and a couple other details. My personal beliefs/thoughts are not relevant so don't need them affecting me professionally one way or the other.

Edited by TylerD on 01/24/2012 15:28:58 MST.

Well, news to me. I guess I skipped over the fine print. If that is what is required I will likely close my account. I understand the objective behind the rule so no hard feelings, I just don't like that.

Lol...I go by the theory that I say what I mean. Not everyone likes it, but that is OK. I don't hide behind a fake name. But for me...I am self-employed so my boss can't get too mad if I make stupid posts.

:-P

Not worried about it. I don't post anything on the web that I wouldn't say to someone's face.

Nothing to hide / worry about.

Edited by chadnsc on 01/24/2012 16:58:49 MST.

Tyler,

I would suggest going with your initials, as that appears to be an option "within the rules". I too was concerned with the "full name" showing, particularly as usernames are present and somewhat of a de-facto convention online.

A reason often given to support "real name" policies is that it promotes civility. I would argue that not only is this an argument made without good supporting data, but that effective alternate measures (removing comments, blocking IPs) are available that do not have the side effect of discouraging speech.

As this site is indexed by Google, threads often turn up prominently in search results. I accordingly take care to tailor my (few) posts for a wider audience. This means that items I might discuss more casually with friends or colleagues are "sanitized" for a much wider audience, or most often simply not posted.

The ability to post pseudonymously allows posts to be accounted for on their own merits, and provides a modest buffer against those who may take offense at the contents of a seemingly innocuous post. At a further extent, what may be a normal and appropriate comment in one area may be a prosecutable offense in another. More probable is the chance that sensitive negotiations could be affected by prior posts. (One may assume that anyone involved in such would have the good sense not to live-blog such deals.) In an ideal world, we could all speak our minds without concern, but the sad truth is, many countries, businesses, and people do not respond well to criticism.

Quoting from the second link below: In the midst of the civil rights movement, the NAACP challenged an Alabama statute requiring the organization to reveal the names and addresses of all its members. While ruling unanimously in favor of the NAACP, the Court avoided any explicit recognition of a right to anonymous speech in favor of an alternative, more general constitutional theory. The Court noted “the vital relationship between freedom to associate and privacy in one’s associations.” (Emphasis mine.)

Additional reading: (the first not too long, the latter more comprehensive and semi-tangential)

The Curse (Blessing) Of Anonymous Speech
http://finemrespice.com/node/63

Publius and the Petition: Doe v. Reed and the History of Anonymous Speech
http://yalelawjournal.org/the-yale-law-journal/content-pages/publius-and-the-petition:-doe-v.-reed-and-the--history-of-anonymous-speech/

ed: added hyperlinks

Edited by requiem on 01/24/2012 18:33:33 MST.

Yes, I should post with my screen name. Paul Mags (or even Mags) would be sure to hide my real life identity of Paul Magnanti. :D

If someone Google searched me, they would find I am outdoors. A lot.

Oh, and this link too:


The Other Paul Magnanti

:)

Edited by PaulMags on 01/24/2012 19:15:12 MST.

>Lol...I go by the theory that I say what I mean. Not everyone likes it, but that is OK. I don't hide behind a fake name. But for me...I am self-employed so my boss can't get too mad if I make stupid posts.<

Do you not have clients, customers? Ever thought about running for political office? Ever wanted to join the PTA? Volunteer for some organization? Are you 101% sure you will NEVER have to get a job? Spouse that works? Do you hold any professional licenses? Want to go to graduate school? Want spouse to get into a graduate school? Have kids that want to get a job? Kids that want to run for political office?

You really want to be accountable for every single sentence you ever write on Backpackinglight for the rest of your life for yourself and your immediate family?

This site is well indexed by google and google has VAST servers. Ya'll know it sticks around for a long time. If this site went away tomorrow, Ryan closed it, deleted all his files it would be indexed on google potentially as long as the internet is around.

There is no more real privacy...electronically.

>There is no more real privacy...electronically.

I completely understand that if somebody really wants to investigate or pay money to get information that it is easy but making it as simple as googling my name...no thanks.

You just never know what a casual person in an innocent situation might think.

Let me see if I can come up with an innocent example...

You want to volunteer at your kids school for field day. You sign up on a list. Some nosy lady googles your name, she stumbles on a post on BPL talking about bringing toilet paper or not and the alternatives. She scrolls through the posts, appalled at your comments and questions. She closes the page, scratches your name off the list and thinks to herself 'what a wierdo'. She never tells you and you never find out why you didn't get invited you just never got a call back.

There are a million examples and scenarios. It doesn't have to be some offensive political opinion or insult it can just be 'you are weird to me, quietly or subconsciously move on to the next candidate'.

Edited by TylerD on 01/25/2012 07:39:39 MST.

Ty Ty, you're way too paranoid and I can now see why you're so worried about your privacy.

You are WAY too worked up. Seriously. I built my business in the outdoor industry based on that I actually interact with people. I am a real person and my readers know it. I post on MANY forums. I write TWO blogs and THREE websites under my real name. I volunteer for non-profits. I have children. I have a husband who works. His boss knows what I do for a living and thinks it is cool. I have worked for actual bosses and frankly, I get hired because I can do the job. If I have burnt bridges over the years I am not crying.

My political leanings would get me into far more water treading territory than my comments on backpacking and hiking forums (I am a stanch supporter of the second amendment). Even to the point I will write letters to non-profits I support financial with my business if I feel they are going too liberal. I have no issue signing my name on those letters. I also vote conservatively and have no issues telling people what I think. Frankly, my writings on my PERSONAL blog about childbirth and pregnancy would be the the thing to make men blanch than what I write here.

Anyone who thinks they are that important is thinking too highly of themselves IMO - when it comes to Google. Always makes me think of my of Dad, who was super paranoid about the gov't. My old man had so many conspiracy theories - his favorite being the tapped phone and the gov't listening to one's conversations through a phone, hung up. My take on it? Since I have nothing to hide, if they were doing it....my life would be pretty boring to listen to :-P My Dad never saw the humor in that.

PS: As for politcial aspirations? Lord, you must not live where I live. We have many people who run for office who have odd backgrounds. No one overly cares.

PS2: I met my husband on the Backpacker.com forums :-P He kind of "knows" what type of person I am. Snort.