When I first got here, I didn't really think too hard about picking a user name. I just figured something mildly amusing connecting myself to OSC's work would be good. My favorite OSC series is the Alvin Maker series, and Verily Cooper is possibly my favorite character from the series. (My character in Animal Crossing I had already named Verily.) So, I just took his name and tacked "the Younger" on it to call to mind the likes of Pitt the Younger and Pliny the Younger. To sort of give the impression that I was a "descendant" of the original Verily.
But over the months, it gradually dawned on me that OSC-related names are not that common here. No, mine's not the only one. There are names referencing Calvin, Ender, a few others. But most Hatrackers have names that have nothing to do with OSC, or at least, nothing that I know of. Hobbes. Dagonee. ClaudiaTherese. quidscribis. Telperion the Silver. Papa Moose . . . well, "Papa Moose" wasn't an OSC reference at the time.
So I'm starting to think I look like too much of a fanboy using an OSC character for my name. Like there's nothing in my life outside OSC that interests me. Like my identity itself comes from his works. And that's not just untrue, but also kind of creepy when I really stop to consider it.
I'm thinking of abandoning this account and coming up with a new name. But before I make a final decision, I was kind of curious what everyone else's thoughts are. Any input I receive may or may not affect the outcome, but if anyone bothers to give me any, I'd appreciate it.
Posted by Beren One Hand (Member # 3403) on :
I think names based on book characters are ridiculous.
Posted by vwiggin (Member # 926) on :
Me too.
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
I've always rather liked the "the Younger" appellation. It's clever, and takes an OSC reference and puts your own spin on it.
Besides, even if you change your SN, you know we'll still all call you Verily.
And forsooth. Posted by Storm Saxon (Member # 3101) on :
People who use names from a work of fiction should be taken out behind the shed and shot. Posted by NinjaBirdman (Member # 7114) on :
I like it. Posted by Teshi (Member # 5024) on :
Wow, so unless you're absolutely certain your name has NEVER been used ANYWHERE in a work of fiction, that's it.
O.o
Posted by Beren One Hand (Member # 3403) on :
We'll beat them first before we shoot them right? *blinks hopefully*
Posted by Miro (Member # 1178) on :
Posted by Storm Saxon (Member # 3101) on :
I just like the way your name makes any post responding to you Elizabethan, Verily.
I would like to confess that I thought you were female, though.
Posted by Teshi (Member # 5024) on :
And I can easily condemn someone to death.
quote: Once upon a time there was a man named Verily the Younger. He rode eighteen unicycles at once during a one-of-a-kind act in a circus. He lived happily until the tiger ate him. The end.
Now you're in a work of fiction .
Posted by signine (Member # 7671) on :
Forgive me, I'm going to get autobiographical before I answer.
Let me see, it all began back when *wavey flashback effect* I was 15 and my nickname at the time (vile, I had very high self-esteem) was being highly overused and I had some other problems with the nickname that have since cleared due to the statute of limitations. I had to choose a new one, and it had to be unique. It also had to be something which I could vary easily without really changing so I wouldn't run into the problem of it "being taken" whenever I tried to get a new account somewhere. I was also an internet junky so it effectively would serve as my identity. I think of my real name as a kind of Clark Kent aspect now.
Even my girlfriend calls me "sig." That disturbs me sometimes.
So my decision to adopt this nick was as such: 1. I fancied myself a hacker at the time, so it had to relate to computers, and specifically UNIX. 2. I had anger and self-esteem issues, recognized them, and wanted to be somewhat obvious about them. On the internet no one can see your face or hear your tone. I suppose I could change my nickname now because I feel much less Shiva and a bit more Vishnu these days. 3. So thus, my nickname would be "Signal Nine," which is the process signal in UNIX that is sent to tell a process to immediately self-terminate. 4. IRC only allowed for 9-character nicks, thus it must be shortened. I adopted "signine." On some other online services other people actually have that nick for some reason so I'm forced to use sig9, sig3x3, sig009, sig0x09, sig3^2, you get the idea. 5. I was also informed later on that Sig-Sauer makes a fine 9mm. Death on two counts I suppose. 6. I've used this nick for so long more of my friends know me as sig than know me as Ryan.
On the other hand, you picked a name to sign up for a forum site built for the fans of an author you adore, and chose a name from said author's works.
So yeah, it's totally cool, quite clever, and not at all too fanboyish. You put thought into it and now it identifies you. Plus it wasn't omghotgurl17f or something like that.
Posted by Orson Scott Card (Member # 209) on :
I'm just glad to know somebody liked Verily Cooper enough to remember him when not actually reading the book.
What's fanboyish about it? For all we know, it's ironic or even satirical in intent.
Besides, what's wrong with being a fanboy? Or a fangirl, for that matter? Or is it just being a fan of MY work <he said, suddenly becoming paranoid as he realizes that he missed his medication during the long flight from New Zealand because there wasn't actually a new "day" for nearly two days ...)
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
Now you've done it, Verily!
It's ok, Scott. Don't fight the nice men in white coats. They're friends.
Posted by Shigosei (Member # 3831) on :
Don't worry. I missed my medication once and the purple hippos didn't hurt me at all.
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
What about the pink-and-blue elephants?
Posted by Joldo (Member # 6991) on :
They have good pills, too.
Anyways, Verily, you have disgraced Mother Russia with your freakishly fanboyish handle. Now you must face the knout.
Posted by Shigosei (Member # 3831) on :
Ooh, those are nasty. But if you do what Nurse Ratched tells you, they'll only tickle your stomach.
Posted by Palimpsest (Member # 6897) on :
I ended up dropping my old name for the same reasons. I'll miss that lower user number, however pointless it may be.
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
Oh, no! Not the knout!
Posted by Joldo (Member # 6991) on :
Possibly even . . . the knot.
Posted by EnderBeanWorthingAnsset (Member # 7728) on :
What's a fanboy?
Posted by CaySedai (Member # 6459) on :
What about using a nick that references one author's series on another author's Web site? (plans to stay far, far away from the shed) Posted by Joldo (Member # 6991) on :
Any man who is obsessed with a particular geekitude. And possibly lives in his parents' garage. And names his pimples.
Posted by Portabello (Member # 7710) on :
At least you'll have a lot of company there.
Posted by Verily the Younger (Member # 6705) on :
quote:Besides, even if you change your SN, you know we'll still all call you Verily.
True. I know "Sara" and "CT" are pretty much interchangeable now.
quote:I would like to confess that I thought you were female, though.
Hm. Guess I need to find a way to make my posts more macho. Maybe I'll start ending them all by saying, "Then I slapped her rump and drank another beer!"
quote:Besides, what's wrong with being a fanboy? Or a fangirl, for that matter? Or is it just being a fan of MY work
Not inherently of your work, but on your own message board on your website, taking a name from your books when very few other people are, I wondered if anyone ever saw my name and thought, "Geez, is he that obsessed? We know you like OSC because you're here, now come up with your own name!"
quote:Anyways, Verily, you have disgraced Mother Russia with your freakishly fanboyish handle.
Mother Russia? I'm afraid I don't immediately grasp the connection.
quote:I ended up dropping my old name for the same reasons. I'll miss that lower user number, however pointless it may be.
So I'm definitely not the only one that's thought of this. Forgive me if I should already know this, but what was your old name?
---
Then I slapped her rump and drank another beer!
Posted by Palimpsest (Member # 6897) on :
I never posted too often, but I used the name Heffaji. And don't ask me how to pronounce it, because I've never been sure.
Posted by Joldo (Member # 6991) on :
Anyone can disgrace Mother Russia. She's rather easily shocked.
Posted by Verily the Younger (Member # 6705) on :
Posted by Shigosei (Member # 3831) on :
Especially when someone slaps her rump while drinking beer.
Posted by Joldo (Member # 6991) on :
Mother Russia: Good heavens!
Now children, be good or I shall call Ivan, the knouter.
[ April 05, 2005, 02:49 AM: Message edited by: Joldo ]
Posted by LTC DuBois (Member # 7661) on :
I don't think it's too fanboish. Naming yourself EnderWiggin5 because EnderWiggin, EnderWiggin2, EnderWiggin3, and EnderWiggin4 were taken would be too fanboish.
But I'm opposed to name changes in general from my experiences in Dark Age of Camelot. Keeping track of all my friend's alts became challenging after a while. But then again you presumeably wouldn't be jumping back and forth between identities.
Posted by Da_Goat (Member # 5529) on :
How come -I- don't have any fanboys? Where's all the "Da_Goat2"s and "Da_Goat3"s? Posted by Wowbagger the Infinitely Prolonged (Member # 7476) on :
Am I a fanboy?
Posted by Joldo (Member # 6991) on :
Have you named your pimples?
Posted by quidscribis (Member # 5124) on :
I was mentioned! I'm . . . famous or something! *giggles like a schoolgirl*
Posted by Da_Goat2 (Member # 7729) on :
I don't see anything wrong with it. Posted by Lady Jane (Member # 7249) on :
Is there something wrong with being fangirly? I don't think so, but then, I do try to keep it under wraps a little bit. This came from a comment made by my professor after I came back from my first OSC signing. "Do you have some news? You're practically glowing." Um, well, no, but I did have an awfully good day. Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :
You know, I never thought about it too much, but the first few days I was here, I did think "the Younger" might be a reference to the Book of Mormon. I was quickly straightened out on that. Posted by Icarus (Member # 3162) on :
::hands Joldo an ironymeter::
-o-
I don't think it's too fanboyish at all, Verily (though I did think you were a girl for some reason). I wouldn't get a new one (for that reason). I really don't think anybody judges you negatively based on that.
I frequently name computers, cars, etc after fictional characters that mean something to me. I have Orson Scott Card as a security question on some web sites I must not, now, name. There's nothing lame about it; it's just a reflection on what you like.
Posted by saxon75 (Member # 4589) on :
quote:Naming yourself EnderWiggin5 because EnderWiggin, EnderWiggin2, EnderWiggin3, and EnderWiggin4 were taken would be too fanboish.
I admit it, I'm a huge fanboy... Posted by twinky (Member # 693) on :
And I thought "the Younger" was a reference to Steven Brust's books.
Anyway, no, there are plenty of fanboy/fangirl names here, and the bottom line is how you feel about it. There isn't anything inherently wrong or foolish about making a screenname a reference to something you like.
(Says the guy whose screenname is a reference to something he likes.)
Edit: saxon, that's pretty funny.
[ April 05, 2005, 11:47 AM: Message edited by: twinky ]
Posted by Verily the Younger (Member # 6705) on :
Okay, that's two people who thought I was a girl. I didn't mind much at first, but now I'm starting to worry. Posted by Lupus (Member # 6516) on :
I don't think there is anything wrong with your user name. As other people mentioned, you did put a spin on it. My nick was actually inspired by a character in Goodkind's first book. He had a character who had been human, but had been turned into a wolf by a wizard prior to the start of the series. He was a somewhat minor character, but he was interesting. I also liked the character of Perrin from Jordan's series. So I decided I would take on the name Lupus (which is wolf in latin...I was in latin class at the time). Prior to Harry Potter almost no one knew what my name meant...but I guess there are plenty of strange names that don't make much sense.
Posted by Wowbagger the Infinitely Prolonged (Member # 7476) on :
Like mine Posted by Icarus (Member # 3162) on :
Are you dobbie?
Posted by Wowbagger the Infinitely Prolonged (Member # 7476) on :
Nooo. I'm an obsure reference to a Character from Douglas Adams Hitchhikers Series...
Posted by fiazko (Member # 5812) on :
I knew your name looked familiar. (I just reread it.) Too bad I forget who it was. Posted by Wowbagger the Infinitely Prolonged (Member # 7476) on :
He's the character, that due to a freak accident, became immortal. Bored with his life, and lacking a purpose to sustain him, and with an utter destain for the universe, decided to insult the universe, one person at a time.
Posted by fiazko (Member # 5812) on :
Ok, apparently I was just imagining it, then. Is he from one of the later books? (I only reread the first one.)
Posted by Wowbagger the Infinitely Prolonged (Member # 7476) on :
He's from Life, The Universe, and Everything
Posted by fiazko (Member # 5812) on :
Ah, well I will keep a lookout when I finish the series.
Posted by Ela (Member # 1365) on :
I would never use a forum name based on one of the characters of OSC's books. Posted by JaneX (Member # 2026) on :
*raises hand* My screenname is an OSC reference too (except for the X). So if you're too fanboyish, then I'm too fangirly.
quote:I'm just glad to know somebody liked Verily Cooper enough to remember him when not actually reading the book.
Are you kidding, Scott? Verily is one of the best characters in that series. He's awesome.
~Jane~
Posted by Ryuko (Member # 5125) on :
I think I have at least one alt that's an OSC reference. Let's see if it still works.
Posted by Ela (Member # 1365) on :
And yeah, I like both Verily Cooper and the name Verily the Younger.
I say keep the name Verily the Younger. Posted by Graff^ (Member # 5676) on :
So it does.
I love Verily too, and your name reminds me of him, so I think you should keep it. Posted by Elanora (Member # 2044) on :
I can do that, too, Graff. Posted by ClaudiaTherese (Member # 923) on :
Verily the Younger, I think your pseudonym is exactly fanboyish enough.
Seriously, it's cool.
Posted by Icarus (Member # 3162) on :
I don't have any OSC-themed screen-names.
::feels left out::
Posted by Erik Slaine (Member # 5583) on :
You and me both, Icky. You and me both....
Posted by Achilles (Member # 7741) on :
There. Now I have a cool Greek Mythology name like Icarus and Noemon.
...What?
Posted by HellooooNurse! (Member # 2297) on :
Well, I do have one name that is not an OSC theme name. Posted by Noemon (Member # 1115) on :
Verily (or I assume it's Verily anyway)
Posted by Ryuko (Member # 5125) on :
Looks like it's Ela.
Posted by Narnia (Member # 1071) on :
I say KEEP the name. rivka's right, we'll still call you Verily.
The cool thing about screennames is that the more you post, the less your name is connected with the book, author, movie, etc. Verily has become YOU and I no longer think of the character in the book when I see your name on Hatrack. Same thing goes for Miro and Hobbes and all these other people. I would hope that people who know me on the board wouldn't immediately think of CS Lewis every time they saw my name. I sure don't. It's...me! And Verily the Younger is you.
So I think you should keep it. Posted by Ela (Member # 1365) on :
Ryuoko, I assume Noeman was responding to the previous post. (Greek names) Posted by Erik Slaine (Member # 5583) on :
No, that was me.
And I'm still blown away that no one ever registered it before.... Posted by Crotalus (Member # 7339) on :
I think everyone should have a Latin name.
Posted by Ela (Member # 1365) on :
Cross-post notification (as I see it) :
Noemon was responding to Achilles (aka Erik). Ryuko was responding to HellooooNurse! (aka Ela). Erik was responding to Noemon.
Whew, gets confusing when you all post so fast. Posted by Erik Slaine (Member # 5583) on :
You're Ryuko, Ela?
Who knew? Posted by Susie Derkins (Member # 7718) on :
Wow. All these fictional characters have me totally confused. Grow up and use some dignified names, people!
Posted by Ryuko (Member # 5125) on :
Fwuhhh? O_o
Posted by Mr.Gumby (Member # 6303) on :
di- dignified? Posted by Little_Doctor (Member # 6635) on :
Verily, I did the same thing as you. Although the only spin I put on "Little Doctor" was the _(underscore). I've been planning out a new identity since I came back in late February. I feel like I'm not special enough to pull off a name change though. Posted by Ryuko (Member # 5125) on :
It is hard to get people to understand if you've changed your name. Tho it helps if you post a lot right before and then right after your name change, making sure people understand that it's you.
Posted by Miro (Member # 1178) on :
I've thought about changing my name, mainly because people think I'm a guy, but I've become too attached to it to let go. I've been Miro for almost 5 years now. That's over a quarter of my life!
Posted by Ryuko (Member # 5125) on :
It is? Wow. Five years is over a quarter for me, too.
(lets the import of that wash over her)
Posted by Ela (Member # 1365) on :
quote:You're Ryuko, Ela?
Who knew?
*thwaps Erik* Posted by Erik Slaine (Member # 5583) on :
Stop it, Ryuko! Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
See, Erik! It's not only me who thinks you need thwapping.
*thwaps Erik on general principles*
Posted by Ela (Member # 1365) on :
Erik, if I am Ryuko, than by extrapolation you must be Noemon.
*eyes Erik suspciously*
*wonders what Ryuko thinks of all this* Posted by Icarus (Member # 3162) on :
Oh, I'm not to bothered over it Ela.
Posted by Ela (Member # 1365) on :
Posted by Orson Scott Card (Member # 209) on :
Now I'm embarrassed to have an OSC-themed screenname myself. Talk about obvious.
Posted by Khavanon (Member # 929) on :
I've been meaning to criticize your fanboy screen name. Are you trying to imply that you're the biggest OSC fan on this site? Or maybe we weren't smart enough to get it first (or the first 208 anyway).
Posted by Ryuko (Member # 5125) on :
O_o Wha? I'm Ela AND Icarus now? Talk about an identity crisis.
I was a bridesmaid in the same wedding I was a groomsman in..
I think I'd rather be Orson Scott Card. At least then, people would follow me around instead of stealing my identity. Posted by BannaOj (Member # 3206) on :
*thinks* If Orson Scott Card is actually OSC-fan then I'm Tom Davidson. Or am I katharina??
Posted by Verily the Younger (Member # 6705) on :
I'm Spartacus.
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
You three never did take that picture, did you? Posted by BannaOj (Member # 3206) on :
I wonder if OSC knows about OSC-fan because of Kristine? Otherwise he has no idea that we are the mysterious Hatrack Trinity or why.
AJ
Posted by Kwea (Member # 2199) on :
quote: Orson Scott Card Member Member # 209
- posted April 06, 2005 01:20 AM Now I'm embarrassed to have an OSC-themed screenname myself. Talk about obvious.
Hey, I can'e believe that someone had not taken it. Better use is rarely though, if the mods catch you then they will ban your IP....that kacard is sharp as a knife....
[ April 06, 2005, 01:46 AM: Message edited by: Kwea ]
Posted by Icarus (Member # 3162) on :
quote:I think I'd rather be Orson Scott Card. At least then, people would follow me around instead of stealing my identity.
::steals Orson Scott Card's identity::
::buys a boat::
Posted by Goo Boy (Member # 7752) on :
There! Now I have a fanboy name too!
And it works so nicely with the whole "Icky" theme, too!
Posted by Achilles (Member # 7741) on :
Whoop! Better assume another identity and keep my head low.
I get sore from all that thwapping! Posted by Ela (Member # 1365) on :
You brought it on your self... Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
*pulls out list titled Erik's Alts: Thwap as Needed*
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Oh, no! Not the ![[Angst]](graemlins/angst.gif)
knout!
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Verily (or I assume it's Verily anyway)
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