Using your real name?

Iamjust curious how people feel about using their real name, I use 6point1 because Im not sure if I want to be publicly known though using my real name would make a name for my art as being mine….....?

Dave Pearson is my real name. The only time I don’t use my real name is when I use the nickname I’ve used on the net since 1995: davep.

but are you comfortable doing so

Very much so. If I wasn’t I wouldn’t.

Martin Kirkwood is my real name.

I use mkirkwood on other websites but I figured if my artwork is ever recognised I’d like it to be recognised for who I am and not splodgy123 or something else obscure.

Just imagine if Rembrandt, Picasso or Dali had computers and were known as..

Spongebob#32
Weirdo12 and
Headcase(1965)

...respectively.

The artworld would be in chaos. :))

I thought long and hard about this subject when I was setting up my website. Part of me wanted to put my cv out there for all to see as I have nothing to be ashamed of.

But my hubby is in IT Security and so the subject of identity theft was a big deterrent.

Sometimes, I think that by not using my real name, it might seem like I am a make believe person.

thats a bit how im feeling,.
like all this myspace anf facebook crap, i really cant stand it and i will never like it

I’m Martin Kirkwood on Facebook aswell. I don’t have a MySpace account.

I have martinkirkwood.com

Identity theft is a problem but I don’t give out sensitive personal information on the internet.

My real name isn’t sensitive information in this context.

By using it, I also have the backup that if anyone tries to infringe my copyright I have the documentation and proof to use in court.

(Not that I’ll post copies of my birth certificate and other ID on the internet.)

I’m starting to get serious about this photography game, and my professional reputation is built off my name. I wouldn’t have it any other way

Identity theft is a problem but I don’t give out sensitive personal information on the internet.

Indeed. Security through obscurity, when it comes to identity, never seemed sensible to me. At least not at the level of not letting on what your name is.

I have been CathieT, on a lot of photography forums, but there are actually two of us – and I decided that if I’m gonna take this seriously I should be Cathie Tranent. ;p

my user name here should be d_rec except for a typo when i joined. sort of shortened version of derek and mostly as that’s how my friends call me.

I started off with my nickname Nannajul, but then I thought to myself after buying some lovely prints of others on here – I always seem to buy from people who use their real name. I always buy the same format – with the artists neam on it. I thought, would anyone like to see – bla bla by Nannajul, hanging on their wall. Nope, so I changed to my real name.

Just for arguments sake…

“So Mr or Mrs 6point1, can you prove that you really own the copyright to the images you posted on redbubble?”

“Erm, no!!!!

“So you cannot even confirm that you are indeed the same 6point1 that uploaded images to the internet?”

“Ern, no!!”

“Case dismissed.”

I’m only kidding but it can happen. :))

I like not using my “birth certificate name”. I can always show the hand drawn originals of my work and soxy is much more exciting as a name than the one I was given at birth. I feel very comfortable using it.

I wouldn’t feel comfortable using my real name for lots of reasons. Often writers have a nom de plume and I don’t see it as much different to that

I’m really Martin Tanton, and I’m on Facebook under my real name. I’d be happy to work under an assumed name for a different type of work that’s not associated with the style of drawings I show here, for example t-shirt designs or cartoons. Georges Remi became Herge when he created Tintin, Jean Giraud became Moebius when he drew surrealistic cartoon strips, rather than the westerns he had become known for. I think it can help to compartmentalise if your creativity branches off in several different directions.

I don’t have a lot of imagination when it comes to thinking of usernames for things like this and my email account.
I stuffed up with my email, though, which I had hoped would also be Amanda Witt, but then Yahoo turned around and said ‘There is already someone with this name. Please think of another one.’ (imagine computer voice there)
So I had to alter my email username a bit, but not much.
It’s easier anyway for the meetups – I’ve told friends that I’ve met people,and have had to give both names – their RB name so I know who I’m talking about, and their real name so my friend can sort-of relate.
I do enjoy seeing what sort of user names people come up with though.

I like to maintain some anonymity. I can’t fully explain why, but I do. Sometimes I use the “identity theft” excuse, and I do think it is a serious threat, but it’s not the whole story.

I have my own domain name which is the same as my full name, where I maintain a minimal web site and email address. The email address is given out only when I think it is safe and appropriate. The web site is used mainly for stuff I want to share with a limited set of people, and everything there is accessed via non-public pathnames.

I also post on other forums (not art related), and I use a different pseudonym on each.

I don’t use MySpace or Facebook.

My photography hobby is just for fun at the moment, so I don’t feel any need to “make a name for myself”, but if I was to get more serious about it, I would probably revert to my real name.

As one who’s been “stalked”.....................even to my own home from a web site…...........I am very wary.

All I gave was my suburb in my profile, but one day I let my surname slip in a thread, and they found me. They also found my email addy as I had mentioned my server on another occasion. That was a silly mistake because I had a username the same as my email. My username was “kingtin” and they simply added my server (which I had divulged in an earlier thread) and they came up with kingtin@iprimus.com.au. They used an anonymous re-mailer so I couldn’t trace them (evidence wise), although I know who it was.

Keyboy cowboys can be very frightening and cause heaps of grief, particularly when your family is involved and they are computer savvy and can avoid disclosing their identity to those less savvy.

kev

Giving out your personal details on the internet is a pretty silly thing to do. I live in London, England which narrows it down to about 600 square miles but won’t make my postcode visible.

I’ve never been stalked, I get my fair share of spam but I just delete it.

I have a rather unusual name and I suffer from a healthy dose of paranoia so when I first started interacting on the net many years ago I chose a pseudonym “Bella”. As the line has blurred with my net friends becoming flesh friends I find now that I answer to both Bella AND Rhana, and it’s as natural as breathing. I even started out here as Bella but as soon as I sold my first piece I thought “WHOAH! I might actually be able to take this somewhere… do I want a fake name on my art or my real name…”

It was a no brainer really.

And as for stalkers well… you can pick them up at your local shop just as easy as on the net. I’m a Fraud Analyst by trade and I also have some idea of how identity theft can occur. I think you would be pretty safe putting your real name here if that’s what you want to do. But only do it if you feel comfortable.

My name is really Queen Elizabeth…..but for obvious reasons I use the noms de peau of Dee Boylan as it makes things a lot easier here…..

I’m not sure Dee but something tells me that your posting isn’t accurate.

Can you please supply your bank account and credit card details to confirm that you are indeed HRH Elizabeth 2nd

My real name is Kathleen Stephens. Over a decade ago I tried to join ms network and my name was taken, hence, lexsis. I have used it since. It’s really like a nickname that is part of my life. RB does have our personal information along with our screen name.

I too have been stalked from an internet connection right up to my desk at work and calls at my mother’s house right after my father died. So,a screen name is not an easy decision. I feel like I should be using my real name here and I have thought about changing it. Any suggestions?

I feel like I should be using my real name here and I have thought about changing it. Any suggestions?

me too…...
an interesting topic