# Real Names



## TxBrew (May 30, 2012)

What are your thoughts on "real name" communities.

Facebook, Qurora, etc. seem to be going that way where you must use your real name as your user name.

Do you enjoy still using a handle or do you wish communities like WMT would adopt real names as well?


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## Julie (May 30, 2012)

ROFLMAO, I use my real name as my user name. I think places like Facebook are fine for using your real name because you set the controls on who see it. Places like WMT members would feel more comfortable having to use their real name since they have no control on who sees their name.


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## Runningwolf (May 30, 2012)

For the sake of the members I prefer to use a handle than a real name here. Many people are introverts and would not feel comfortable posting if they had to use their real name for the entire world to see.


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## Sammyk (May 30, 2012)

I use a "handle" I have a huge online business breeding and shipping koi plus a commercial greenhouse pond plants we ship. I do not want my customers to know what I do in private because they already know too much about my private life. I would not be here if real names were required!


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## Watchdog (May 30, 2012)

I use a handle here because most people cannot pronounce my last name correctly. :> Otherwise using real names wouldn't bother me like facebook


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## Bartman (May 30, 2012)

As terrorist winemakers on WMT, we value our anonymity! (at least *I* still worry that my wine may cause blindness or death...)


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## winemaker_3352 (May 30, 2012)

Watchdog said:


> I use a handle here because most people cannot pronounce my last name correctly. :> Otherwise using real names wouldn't bother me like facebook



Yeah I am in the same boat - user handle is shorter and easier to pronounce.


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## GrandpasFootsteps (May 30, 2012)

I strongly disagree with "Real Name" requirements online. Everything online is tracked. If I see you on the street and introduce myself and we talk about wine, then that conversation is gone after we part ways. Online, everything is recorded - forever. The data mining capabilities of systems are so far beyond what most people understand and can comprehend. Every digital message online is stored - that includes emails sent in the clear on web mail servers like google, hotmail, and yahoo (it is in google mail's Terms of Service), Facebook, WineMakingTalk, Reddit, etc. The data that is tied to a real name (a lot of it is now) can be mined to make an incredibly accurate profile of you as a person. Where you live, where you work, how much money you make, what you buy, your hobbies, your political leanings, your travel, when you are home, etc. Is there a sinister conspiracy behind this? Is the government collecting this information and watching you? Maybe. The more immediate concern though is some corporations are gathering all this data and using it to build these detailed profiles which are then sold for marketing, advertising, and sales purposes. This is the model of Facebook and Google already - why do you think these services are free? They aren't trying to get money by having you click on their ads (like this forum does, which is totally fine). They want you to click on those ads and record which products you look at and favor. So they make money for your click on the ad, they make money by selling the ad, and they make 100x more money selling the profiles.

I'm not pointing the finger at WMT or any of our other forums. The data here isn't stored and sold in profiles by our glorious forum admins. But the posts are viewed and stored by outside web crawler companies.

For example, this link:

http://webcache.googleusercontent.c...lavoring-pee-13435/+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us

is stored by google. It is a post I made in May 2011. All of the content is stored on Google's systems. Google is obvious about this and they offer their cache accessibility to everyone. There are many other marketing corps that collect the same data and do nothing but mine the data and build profiles.

Kyle

P.S. Sorry about the long post but as I've mentioned before, my job is in network security and the "real name" quandry is relevant to what I do.


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## rocket man (May 30, 2012)

WOW, that's scary stuff :<:<:<


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## winemaker_3352 (May 30, 2012)

GrandpasFootsteps said:


> I strongly disagree with "Real Name" requirements online. Everything online is tracked. If I see you on the street and introduce myself and we talk about wine, then that conversation is gone after we part ways. Online, everything is recorded - forever. The data mining capabilities of systems are so far beyond what most people understand and can comprehend. Every digital message online is stored - that includes emails sent in the clear on web mail servers like google, hotmail, and yahoo (it is in google mail's Terms of Service), Facebook, WineMakingTalk, Reddit, etc. The data that is tied to a real name (a lot of it is now) can be mined to make an incredibly accurate profile of you as a person. Where you live, where you work, how much money you make, what you buy, your hobbies, your political leanings, your travel, when you are home, etc. Is there a sinister conspiracy behind this? Is the government collecting this information and watching you? Maybe. The more immediate concern though is some corporations are gathering all this data and using it to build these detailed profiles which are then sold for marketing, advertising, and sales purposes. This is the model of Facebook and Google already - why do you think these services are free? They aren't trying to get money by having you click on their ads (like this forum does, which is totally fine). They want you to click on those ads and record which products you look at and favor. So they make money for your click on the ad, they make money by selling the ad, and they make 100x more money selling the profiles.
> 
> I'm not pointing the finger at WMT or any of our other forums. The data here isn't stored and sold in profiles by our glorious forum admins. But the posts are viewed and stored by outside web crawler companies.
> 
> ...




Glad to have your input...


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## JSPL (May 30, 2012)

I prefer to use a handle because it makes me feel like I have some control over my identity/anonymity. The Google and Facebook issue Kyle brought up is the reason I don't use them anymore.


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## JohnT (May 30, 2012)

Use handles!

I feel that people are more likely to give their honest opinions if their names are not known.


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## TXfanatic (May 30, 2012)

I googled my user name to find out what others could find and found lots of stuff I posted on other forums. I'm glad I didn't use my real name.


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## TJsBasement (May 30, 2012)

TJ is my real nick name, and I only use the handle TJsBasement on this site, I did like TX said and googled it, none of them are me.


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## GrandpasFootsteps (May 30, 2012)

I've met a lot of people online who I then met with in real life at social gatherings. Handles are fun because after a long time of building up friendships in the virtual environments, we tend to call each other by our handles in real life. My wife laughs when she hears people call me by my handle (not the one here) and I respond completely naturally. Would be funny if someone here referred to me as "Grandpa" even though I'm a youngster.


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## joea132 (May 30, 2012)

The easy answer based on the responses is obviously to keep handles. That way people can use their real names if they want to. I post my real name because I don't really mind having it out there. Not like I have a reputation to uphold!!!


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## roblloyd (May 30, 2012)

I'm ok either way. I try not to post things that would tarnish me if something came up. I'm sure I've posted a few things that should not have been said but if it's only a couple (I hope) so I'm not too worried. Handles is fine with me. Gives the board the feel of a board as they were designed long ago. Who knows, maybe someone famous wants to be here but remain hidden from the real world.

Now I'm starting to think I should have a different profile name?!


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## Sirs (May 30, 2012)

Funny I go by 2 handles or nicks whatever you wish to call them. Like Grandpa I respond to both in fact most people who know me know my real name but there are lots who will only call me by my nick lol myself I could give a hoot what anyone calls me or whether they know my real name or not. Either way I'll answer to Sirs/oldman/Eddie and a few others I've been called by hostile people for some odd reason


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## Wade E (May 30, 2012)

Im fine either way but it looks like the people have spoken.


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## SarahRides (May 30, 2012)

I generally don't care, I think the handles are interesting........ Says something about people! I kind of got suspicious when all the ads popping up had to do with winemaking, quilting, etc.  I generally don't post anything that I wouldn't care if the whole world knew, so to me it doesn't make a difference whether I use a handle or not. It is kind of scary how much these databases know about everyone, what kind of data they collect, etc. All that much more reason to be careful what I put onto the internet!


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## millwright01 (May 30, 2012)

I only use handles. I'm not on facebook. I try very hard to limit the amount of information about me out there. FYI Facebook and some of the other so called real name sites are only real name if that is what you want to use. No one from these sites stops by and checks your ID!


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## TxBrew (May 30, 2012)

I'm sorry everyone but I had no intentions on making this a "real names" community. It was just more of an open discussion about the direction of the Internet.


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## Rocky (May 30, 2012)

I don't know people, but it seems to me that our community is whatever each of us want it to be. If you want ot use a "handle," do so. If you want to use your real name, do so. What is the issue?


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## Runningwolf (May 31, 2012)

Rocky said:


> I don't know people, but it seems to me that our community is whatever each of us want it to be. If you want ot use a "handle," do so. If you want to use your real name, do so. What is the issue?


 
Rocky there is no issue. This was just a survey and open discussion asking people how they felt about something. Tx started a few other great threads like the first wine you made.


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## DirtyDawg10 (May 31, 2012)

Dirty Dawg is my real name!


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## BernardSmith (May 31, 2012)

I don't know about conspiracies although we are all certainly complicit in destroying most versions of privacy - Whether we use EZ-Pass on inter-city roads or membership cards at supermarkets or ATM cards at banks or GPS enabled smartphones, or whether we enable access to our computers by cookies we provide many others (all strangers) with access to very intimate information about ourselves and our movements. But that said, there are occasions where the use of "real names" will likely dampen valuable online discussion and occasions where the use of "usernames" very likely encourages trolling, flaming and and incivility. And while I do think that we all need to think about the pros and cons that anonymity provides I also think that the use of monickers does perhaps offer a smidge more than an illusion of privacy to those who feel naked when they are asked to use their given names in any discussion group.


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## olusteebus (May 31, 2012)

My name is Olustee bus. 

Not really, I am Buster and I live in Olustee - Florida, where it is legal for an individual to make wine


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## jswordy (May 31, 2012)

I always LOL at the handles anyway, because IP addresses let anyone who can get it track anyone down. There are a bunch of ways to get them if one is clever and persistent, and of course, any mod has access to that info. 

I know a mod on another site who was physically threatened online by a user in an entirely different state. User was very surprised when a sheriff's deputy knocked on his door a few days later.

But handles can keep one's ID away from casual users.


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## jswordy (May 31, 2012)

DirtyDawg10 said:


> Dirty Dawg is my real name!


 
^ His Daddy's name is Dirty Dawg 9!


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## shoebiedoo (May 31, 2012)

TxBrew said:


> I'm sorry everyone but I had no intentions on making this a "real names" community. It was just more of an open discussion about the direction of the Internet.



I can't use my real name!!! Could you imagine a pilot talking about his Pee not clearing and having a Egg smell???  not to mention the "how much do you dirnk" poll  

I don dzrink as mush when i godda fry..you know??!!! I haffa be sponsable an sit.


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## DirtyDawg10 (May 31, 2012)

jswordy said:


> ^ His Daddy's name is Dirty Dawg 9!


 How'd you guess?


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## mind-eraser (Jun 1, 2012)

I don't think it matters, I started with the handle cause everyone else was using one. But I'm thinking if I mess up one of my wines everyone will know, but only here and not reminded about it all the other places I go. But how else will I know if I messed up. I'm here to get help in my new hobby. And I was told that it wasn't that expensive to start or do (my neighbor) but I got to have all the toys. Just like I have dozens of 12' tape measures and paint scrapers (use to be a carpenter, electrician and plumber but needed insurance). Now I've got a lot of those bottle openers you keep in your pocket. Many years ago, my brother and his wife gave us a very nice wine bottle opener. I said at that time (not to them) I'll never use this thing. I'm thinking it'll be warn out by the end of the year.


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## jswordy (Jun 1, 2012)

DirtyDawg10 said:


> How'd you guess?


 
I hadda use *ALL* my fingers and a half-n-hour to git 'er figgered out, but I dun it!



Now I gots a headache.


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