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@stux@mstdn.socialThese days so many people want to be 'verified' on the internet 
I grew up in a time when we where told 'not to use your real name on the internet' 
tihi
@stux I grew up in a time when we all put our names, addresses and telephone numbers into books that were distributed for free to every household and going "ex directory" was a bit like going on the run in Minority Report.
@stux yes, I always used my name as an act of defiance. I felt that people were basically good, and I wasn't going to hide because of a few bad guys. I still think that.
Of course given the 2016 elections, sometimes I doubt my feelings about this 
@stux I grew up in a time when "the internet" would have been science fiction :D
@stux I still think so!
@stux i get the sense that there are a lot of people who don’t want to be verified on the internet so much as they want to be validated on it. which, objectively speaking, is super sad!
@stux That was why I took the name Hagelslag when I had to make up my first email adress, somewhere in the 90's.
@stux they also said don't get in the car with a stranger... now you literally use your real name to summon a stranger with a car via the internet.
@stux And "Don't get in the car with strangers," but now we use the internet to order a cab.
@stux For some reason, that came to mind recently in a discussion. Too cool.
Me too! I brought up both my kids that way and even now at 20 and 24 they can't be searched easily!
@stux You and me both! The “verified” on my name is a joke.
@stux People like to scold those on Twitter for not using their real name. Insanity.
𝕭𝖆𝖙@stux
Still avoid it whenever possible. Not impossible to find my IRL name, may even be easy. Still....
@stux Howlin’ Hobbit IS my “real name.” my “government name” is different but, except for my sister, *nobody* calls me anything but Hobbit. I taught my nieces & nephew (sis’s kids) to call me Hobbit (or Uncle Hobbit) if they actually wanted a response.
the excuse given for requiring the gov’t name is to “make sure” I can be “held responsible” for my comments. I stand behind every comment I make, unless I’m wrong; in which case I apologize & thank whomever corrected me.
that’s called “honor.”
Hagen @stux I was always the weird one using my real name. Thankfully it’s a weird name :)
that’s so cool! the only other Mingo I’ve ever heard of was Mingo Sheffield, a character in “Handling Sin” by Michael Malone. I highly recommend this book. I’ve read it 4 or 5 times and will undoubtedly read it again.
if you start to read it and think, “Harrumph! This guy’s a clown.” just power through a bit. he’s like a holy clown (a total innocent in the best way) and you’d have to search hard to find anyone sweeter.
@stux ahah. Yeah... I found it strange when I saw a profile sporting a blue tick here... What's up with that? Is Mastodon also verifying people?
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@pedvro@mstdn.social @stux@mstdn.social No that's just custom emoji xD 
@stux I have no desire to be verified on any social media. I am what I am, if you like me excellent, if not…meh!
@stux
Me too, and still doing it! The only downside is that my friends have forgotten my real surname after a couple of decades of communicating online 
“I self verify therefore, I know who I am” -h3rb1
@stux
It's still kinda weird to me. Though my efforts to keep my meatspace name and my online name separate failed a long time ago.
@stux same. And I still don't.
@stux I wanna be verified.
A verified cool guy 
@stux I really like that less people on the fediverse use their real name here. I hope we continue to encourage that for new folks. Without an advertising motive, there's no good reason to!
@stux From when I did more readily associate my real name and nicknames, it's not that hard to track my username back to my real name with any modicum of effort, but I'm trying to change the default assumptions at least. My real name domain and my nickname domain are no longer directly associated or reference each other, and I use an email alias where appropriate to avoid revealing one from the other.
@stux Me too! Except for LinkedIn and Facebook I've almost never used it.
@stux the only verification you needed was the ability to demonstrate your abilities.
But it was also a time when you could simply say "Who are you to challenge me?" And make it stick.
@stux Why change good habits?!
@stux I'm still doing that
@stux yeah hehehe who would do that?
@stux This is pretty much my first non-anonymous account online in 32 years (aside from email).
@peterbutler
@stux
So, you had an account in your name on what platform? AOL? Prodigy? Bix?
I agree. One of my favourite authors is #FrownStrong and I don't need to know if they are real or fiction or composite. If what they say is useful, if it improves the world, I'll take it.
The Romantic Era cults of celebrity worship are highly overrated. Once upon a time we made art to make our world a better place, not to fleece the patsies for fame and riches and "build a brand". Branding hurts. Ask any cow. 
@stux same
@stux@mstdn.social yup, dont use real names, locations ect. I remember when I bought something over the internet for the first time, it seemed absolutely wild and I was sure to be scammed.
@stux Likewise! I’ve wondered in recent years whether there’s value in bringing back some of the Rules of the Old Internet. “Don’t feed the trolls,” “Filter at the source,” “Don’t use your real name,” “Scrutinize everything and trust nothing out of hand,” etc. Those rules existed because the Internet was a far more anonymous, far more mysterious place, but I hold that they were still generally good rules to follow. Somehow they got lost along the way. 
@stux
I still live by that today (well, mostly anyway)
Instead I tend to label myself with obscure references to things I'm obsessed with
@stux ja hier net zo, tijden veranderen 
@stux I have, for a long time, not really been myself. And that's verifiable.
@stux still living by that rule.