Who are you Jeepers?
You have evidently been around for a while since you know how we interact on this Board, you know how we
kid around and you know how we welcome strangers. YET you post under a stranger's title and name.
For some reason I am very uncomfortable with that.
Everybody here knows me as belMarduk. I am who I am, and I will always stand up and be counted as such. It
doesn't matter if I ever have an argument with someone or if someone attacks me in a PM. No-one will take
my name away and I will not let them. If I ever leave and come back I will come back as belMarduk. I will not
hide and I will stand up as myself.
Why do you not?
When I first read Jeepers post and then yours, BelM, I agreed with yours. Now, on reflection, I'm not so sure. Sure, Jeepers has only posted three times and has an 'uncanny' grasp of the AWAD board. Then again you can get a good idea of people's characters and the workings of this forum simply by sifting through a few threads.
Jeepers may be a pseudonym of an old or established member but I'm not wholly convinced. If you join a forum such as this and have the enthusiasm for words and discussion which we all purport to share then that will come out early on, shouldn't it? Many viewers 'lurk' in the shadows waiting for their opportunity to contribute a word or two. Perhaps Jeepers has been here since day one and has been happy to watch from the sidelines and enjoy the banter, discussion and progress rather than partake themselves. If that were the case then he/she would naturally be familiar with everything.
Many members don't have bios listed for reasons of privacy. I don't mind listing my name although their was always the risk of attracting unwanted attention. Jeepers has every right to remain anonymous as do we all, if we wish. As for 'coming back as someone else', it's not unknown for AWAD members to change their usernames and, indeed, use several. Again, that is up to the individual. Perhaps it makes their contributions more fun or, yet again, they have privacy issues.
Regardless of all this I see no reason why Jeepers apparent name change should make you uncomfortable. Jeepers is a username, a nom-de-plume used to gain anonymity. Mine is Rubrick but you can easily look up my real name in my bio. I don't see any sinister connotations attached to Jeepers reason to remain anonymous or to his/her fundamental knowledge of the workings of this forum. Are we suggesting that, unless someone joins the forum in complete ignorance, they are to be marginalised and viewed with suspicion?
Jeepers comments were perfectly acceptable and appropriate. Lest we forget the nature of this thread we are in danger of losing another new member if we criticise him/her and question his/her identity.
