Real name, user name, or some nickname?

It seems to be split 50/50 with Dan/Daniel and Itsy. I'm fine either way.

I prefer not to be called.

People only ever call me Mike or KBT, so it's what I'm used to. Mike is more often used though. In real life, however, hardly anyone calls be by my first name, I get last-named so much that there was actually a point where I was offended if someone called me "Mike" and I didn't know them well enough. A favorite highschool moment of mine was when someone asked, "Hey Sharkey! What's your last name, anyways?" . 

I used to associate myself so much with the user-name Logan that it felt odd if people called me Greg, but now I prefer to be called Greg.  Some here will be called by first name, user-name, and by some other nickname (the nickname often being based on the user name).  Some prefer to keep even their first name hidden, and don't add it to the profile.  In some cases I've greeted someone by the real given name, and people have been surprised that I knew it (it was in the profile, but they did not know that was public).

I like the more personal touch of real names.  It can feel awkward when I call someone by a username that doesn't even sound like a name, particularly -- might be a combination of words, and then with no real name given one is apt to abbreviate it.  So "I_dig_intellectual_old_tracks" becomes "Idiot".  Hi Idiot, welcome aboard, you've come to the right place!

Of course the username alone provides more anonymity (and is sometimes suggested for security reasons), and I'm not comfortable giving out my full name to the public.

Do you prefer being known by your real name, and do you prefer to call others by real name?


Edited by Logan - January 12 2009 at 16:02