Using Screen names...

Its also a lie to address your self as some other name.

tit for tat

Perhaps it's just standard practice not to use your real name on the internet. Never gave it much thought myself. Interesting idea though.

I think it is just part of Chat Room Safety. This is a Christian site, but that doesn't mean only well intentioned Christian people access it.

I have a screen name but my real name is in my sig. Not my last name though. Just for security I would not publicly state my last name. I think for me it's largely a safety issue.

When I joined CF, I had a choice: use a screen name and be honest and candid, or use my real name and be "socially correct", with all the phoniness and constraints that go with it.

Obviously, I chose the former, and have rejoiced in the intimate and unbridled conversations here.

Just for the record, I have met in person with a few people I've met here. That's honest.

I use the name my owner gave me!

Lost4words said:

I use the name my owner gave me!

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I thought they would just call you "The worlds cutest Corgi!"
BTW which four words did you lose?

jacks said:

I thought they would just call you "The worlds cutest Corgi!"
BTW which four words did you lose?

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Woof!

Not Christian? Aren't Christians supposed to be cautious also? Besides, if you use your real name it is easy for folks to find info about you online.

Carl Emerson said:

Few on the forum post under their real name.

What are the reasons for this.

It may be common practice on the internet but is it 'Christian' to hide ones true identity?

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A few years back (2002-2014), I use to post under the screen name Addai which was Thaddeus in Aramaic. I was once a member of a middle eastern Church where that name had significance as a kind of "Founding Father" of the Church. I used an avatar name because it seemed like standard practice at the time, and I thought it might be handy on occasion if I had a cyber stalker etc. My identity however was not fully shielded people could click on my profile and see my actual name etc. which was true for many of my fellow Christian forum mates.


A few years ago (2015), I got divorced and was also socially isolated. I had moved across the country from California to North Carolina where I only had a few relatives from my wife's side and zero relatives and friends after the divorce. So I was trying to do something positive with my time, do an actual online ministry etc. and using my actual name was better for that and it was a little easier to setup here using my pre-existing Face Book account.


PS - I also would add the avatar thing was also fun coming up with a good handle etc. In the old days, there were also less tools etc. where you needed html knowledge for posting pics in threads etc. But using a new pic in your avatar was easy when you were talking about a specific topic. And people often had their favorite long term pics that represented their ethnicity, church background, and so on.

Sometimes sensitive issues are discussed here, and it would, in my estimation, be very unwise to tell the world the identity of the person seeking advice.

In like manner, actual pictures of users are generally not used in profiles either, especially by women. It's a matter of safety. This is the internet, and all kinds of people are out there.

No situation is ever entirely safe, but it's reasonable to take what precautions we can.

Yup, safety. Back in the old Usenet days, I used my real name, but the modern Internet is much bigger, with lots of creepy weirdos. On CF, I'm careful not to give out specific details about where I live, or where I work, or the identities of my family members. I don't need to come home one day to a vandalized house or nutcase with a gun, just because I said something unpopular on the Internet.

For what it's worth, what I say here is true: my beliefs, my values, my church, my relationships. I just hide some specific names and features. The attentive CF reader knows more about my beliefs than, say, many people at church, because we have some good conversations here on CF that go deeper than "My, don't we have yummy donuts at coffee hour today."

Seems to be common practice on a public internet forum. I am doing a hybrid solution as my real name is Steven..

Fun and for safety's sake. Names people choose for themselves often say a great deal more about them than their actual names.

Carl Emerson said:

It may be common practice on the internet but is it 'Christian' to hide ones true identity?

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Apparently our Lord used anonymity at times Himself.

Carl Emerson said:

It may be common practice on the internet but is it 'Christian' to hide ones true identity?

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It's "unchristian" (and possibly illegal) to use an actual person's name/persona and pass it off as your own. Using a made-up screen name is definitely common practice, and that practice shouldn't be used as an excuse for inventing another "sin".

Personally, I have many reasons, privacy and security chief among them, to keep my internet and social media footprint off the grid.

Carl Emerson said:

Few on the forum post under their real name.

What are the reasons for this.

It may be common practice on the internet but is it 'Christian' to hide ones true identity?

Click to expand...

It is not wise to give personal information online, especially ones' real and legal name. Discretion and wisdom are called for on the internet. I find it troubling that real names are given so nonchalantly and carelessly, and surely should not be encouraged for children and young teens. It's naive and dangerous and should never be encouraged.

It is "Christian" to practice wisdom, discernment, and discretion. It's also bless-ed common sense. God does not encourage naivete' or carelessness, nor should we.

This comes to mind:

"Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves." ~Matt 10:16

Most of the folks I see that are using their real names are doing so for reasons of self-promotion. They WANT folks to find out who they are in order to promote their web site/book/business, etc.

Seems to me like "self-promotion" should be the bigger issue instead of a made-up screen name.