Why Do People Use Aliases On The Internet But Not Other Places?

[collyer]

Why do men and women use aliases on the World wide web but not in other human dealings? Why is the Internet diverse? Why are folks afraid?

[rockwell20]

[Tamtun]

International exposure It is so a lot simpler to expose your true identity to a individual with whom you relate and can size up. Even in face to face situations, there are people I would inform quite little. Particularly on a forum like Askville, it is significantly much more comfy to be capable to give your thoughts and opinions with out revealing your identity to the world. HELENofTROY 85 months ago Please sign in to give a compliment. Please confirm your account to give a compliment. Please sign in to send a message. Please confirm your account to send a message.

[alvyn]

There are lots of examples of people using other names in real life. Many people use pseudenames, pen names, aliases etc. Many people even choose to change their name legally. Many people go by a nickname that has nothing to do with their real name, like Buck etc. We don't get to choose our given name, and many people feel it doesn't reflect them. Internet gives you a chance to "reinvent" yourself, so if you feel a bit more like a FastWing than a Gilbert then that is up to you.Initially online, you would have had a userid given by your providor(for example a university) that would likely have been say bole48 for Bob Lemark, born 1948, so people didn't initially have the choice of what name to use, and by the time they did, the concept of "screen name" was already established, along with the relative anonymity that comes from it. Also, callsigns etc were already historically established from Ham/Amature radio etc, From Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ScreennameA screen name is frequently limited in length and character composition by the technical restrictions of the applications for which it is used, such as e-mail, instant messaging, or file sharing. For example, Prodigy(ISP) online service originally assigned non-word alphanumeric strings as screen names, and Compuserve online service originally assigned only numeric strings. Screen names are often pseudonyms or first names, many times complemented by extra numbers, letters, or other characters to disambiguate them from users with similar screen names on the same system; this practice is increasingly common as the popularity of online environments grows and the availability of unique identifiers dwindles.

[osrik]

Short answer: because Google exists Well, first, people do use aliases in offline stuff sometimes. (I don?t have a lot of knowledge about this, but a mundane, non-criminal example would be writing under a pen name.  Or groups like Alcoholics Anonymous, where you just use your first name.) But the Internet makes it both easier and more desirable.  It?s obvious why it?s easier, but it?s more desirable because if you use your real name for everything you do online, then anyone who can use a search engine can find out pretty much everything you?ve done online ever.  That?s a bit creepy, in my opinion, even if you never say anything online you wouldn?t say in front of your grandmother.  It?s also a little dangerous because it means that if some psycho gets a grudge against you, and they know your name, they can find out where you live, or your phone number. But for a lot of us, there?s plenty that we wouldn?t necessarily want everyone we know to know about(friends, family, potential employers, coworkers) because it might be embarassing or it?s too personal.  If you look at ask.metafilter.com, there?s lots of anonymous questions, usually about relationships or sex or embarassing personal problems.  Maybe you don?t want everyone who plugs your name into a search to be able to find out you have a weird rash on your butt.  Maybe you don?t want everyone you know to know about some odd fetish you have, and maybe judge you for it. (As to why someone would ask these questions in the first place, well, if you have to ask someone then doing it online anonymously is a fairly cheap, easy, and non-embarassing way.  These people don?t know you; you won?t have to look them in the eye knowing they know about your personal stuff.)  So, one reason is being able to ask questions without fear. You can blow off steam in a general way about your work under an alias and they won?t have to know about it(at least if you don?t say where you work). You can talk to friends the same way you would offline if you use an alias.  I assume there are things you could say to a good friend that you wouldn?t necessarily say in front of your mom or your boss, right?  Well, if you use your real name everywhere online, then EVERYTHING you say is potentially in front of your mom or your boss. (You don?t have this problem when you?re talking to friends offline, because your conversations offline aren?t searchable, obviously.  But online?  Everything?s there forever, for anyone to see, potentially.)  If you use an alias, you don?t have to watch yourself all the time.  I don?t mean trolling, but you don?t have to worry as much about "How would this look out of context" or "Would I be embarassed if ___ saw this" and so on.  For me, that?s the big reason: not having to look at everything I say in terms of "Do I want my family or boss seeing this?"  I can just talk to friends and not worry about it. I guess an alias is just peace of mind. Octal 84 months ago Please sign in to give a compliment. Please verify your account to give a compliment. Please sign in to send a message. Please verify your account to send a message.

[Harlowe]

Well, first, people do use aliases in offline stuff sometimes. (I don?t have a lot of knowledge about this, but a mundane, non-criminal example would be writing under a pen name.  Or groups like Alcoholics Anonymous, where you just use your first name.) But the Internet makes it both easier and more desirable.  It?s obvious why it?s easier, but it?s more desirable because if you use your real name for everything you do online, then anyone who can use a search engine can find out pretty much everything you?ve done online ever.  That?s a bit creepy, in my opinion, even if you never say anything online you wouldn?t say in front of your grandmother.  It?s also a little dangerous because it means that if some psycho gets a grudge against you, and they know your name, they can find out where you live, or your phone number. But for a lot of us, there?s plenty that we wouldn?t necessarily want everyone we know to know about(friends, family, potential employers, coworkers) because it might be embarassing or it?s too personal.  If you look at ask.metafilter.com, there?s lots of anonymous questions, usually about relationships or sex or embarassing personal problems.  Maybe you don?t want everyone who plugs your name into a search to be able to find out you have a weird rash on your butt.  Maybe you don?t want everyone you know to know about some odd fetish you have, and maybe judge you for it. (As to why someone would ask these questions in the first place, well, if you have to ask someone then doing it online anonymously is a fairly cheap, easy, and non-embarassing way.  These people don?t know you; you won?t have to look them in the eye knowing they know about your personal stuff.)  So, one reason is being able to ask questions without fear. You can blow off steam in a general way about your work under an alias and they won?t have to know about it(at least if you don?t say where you work). You can talk to friends the same way you would offline if you use an alias.  I assume there are things you could say to a good friend that you wouldn?t necessarily say in front of your mom or your boss, right?  Well, if you use your real name everywhere online, then EVERYTHING you say is potentially in front of your mom or your boss. (You don?t have this problem when you?re talking to friends offline, because your conversations offline aren?t searchable, obviously.  But online?  Everything?s there forever, for anyone to see, potentially.)  If you use an alias, you don?t have to watch yourself all the time.  I don?t mean trolling, but you don?t have to worry as much about "How would this look out of context" or "Would I be embarassed if ___ saw this" and so on.  For me, that?s the big reason: not having to look at everything I say in terms of "Do I want my family or boss seeing this?"  I can just talk to friends and not worry about it. I guess an alias is just peace of mind.

[Armstrang]

Because they can, the internet makes it possible. In the normal world it is not acceptable to hide behind a mask.  On the internet it is possible and even acceptable. Also, Alias(handles) were also used during the CB(citizen band) craze of the 70's:"Originally, CB did require a license and the use of a call sign, but when the CB craze was at its peak, many people ignored this requirement and used made up nicknames or "handles". The use of handles instead of call signs is related to the common practice of using the radios to warn other drivers of speed traps during the time when the United States dropped the national speed limit to 55 mph(90 km/h) beginning in 1974 in response to the 1973 hike in oil prices. The FCC recommended the use of ten-codes and these were used, often in a shortened form, but also many slang terms were developed."(from Wikipedia) I believe many people feel like they are essentially aliases of themselves when driving their car as well.  People that are kind and meek in person become aggressive and evil when driving(and visa versa). Sources: Wikipedia NerdMaster67 84 months ago Please sign in to give a compliment. Please verify your account to give a compliment. Please sign in to send a message. Please verify your account to send a message.

[Anders]

In the normal world it is not acceptable to hide behind a mask.  On the internet it is possible and even acceptable. Also, Alias(handles) were also used during the CB(citizen band) craze of the 70's:"Originally, CB did require a license and the use of a call sign, but when the CB craze was at its peak, many people ignored this requirement and used made up nicknames or "handles". The use of handles instead of call signs is related to the common practice of using the radios to warn other drivers of speed traps during the time when the United States dropped the national speed limit to 55 mph(90 km/h) beginning in 1974 in response to the 1973 hike in oil prices. The FCC recommended the use of ten-codes and these were used, often in a shortened form, but also many slang terms were developed."(from Wikipedia) I believe many people feel like they are essentially aliases of themselves when driving their car as well.  People that are kind and meek in person become aggressive and evil when driving(and visa versa).

[Chadwik]

It is so much easier to expose your true identity to a person with whom you relate and can size up. Even in face to face situations, there are people I would tell very little. Especially on a forum like Askville, it is much more comfortable to be able to give your thoughts and opinions without revealing your identity to the world.