> > > > Don "The Monkey'doesn't feel like typing his name at the end of his messages. Needs a shorter name.'man" Jackson
> > >
> > > You could just start calling yourself "Monkeyman" like you do in chat. We know who you are.
> > >
> > > Gri"or how about just 'Monkey?' Or maybe you could even shorten it to 'Monk'"shny
> >
> > Heh. "Monk" appeals to me for some reason...
> >
> > I would do that, but I read somewhere that one sign of successful online communities is the use of real names within them, and I like that idea... I also like to put a little of my real self into the things I say online. Unfortunately, just using "Don" went out when Don Thornton posted here (confusion is bad). I am thinking of just using "Don Jackson", but I would rather have the lighthearted part of myself here as well... I'll keep thinking on it.
> >
> > Don "Wouldn't fit in well in a monastery" Monkey
>
> I find it interesting that you are trying to figure out what 'name' to use. This morning, for the first time, I actually registered my real name for RinkChat and tried it out. It looked so foreign and strange that I quickly logged out and came back in as Ellmyruh. I have come to think of myself as Ellmyruh when I am in RinkLand, and anything else seems strange. However, nicknames of Ellmyruh, such as Ellie, Elly, Elli, Ell, etc, do not bother me at all. I like Ellmyruh and any abbreviations of it. The only thing I ever regretted about my real name was that it doesn't have a nickname.
>
> The only thing that is a middle-of-the-road approach is the nickname Darien usually uses on me. "L" sounds like "Ell" (short for Ellmyruh), but is also the first letter of my real name. I'm not sure why I am perfectly comfortable with L, but not with seeing my full name taken out of context, in a way. Similarly, I was taken aback when someone from school responded to an email and called me "Ellmyruh" in it. In a way, that was out of context, too. People who do not know my non-online world do not know or think of me as Ellmyruh.
>
> I'm not sure where I'm going with this, but I suppose I am merely thinking out loud. If I could, I would probably rather use my real name in chat and on the message forum. However, I am too fond of Ellmyruh, I, along with everyone else here, have grown accustomed to it, and I tremble over the idea of people shortening Layla to "Lay."
>
> Ell"Layla B"myruh

Interesting... I did a few stints of using "Don" in RinkChat, although I mainly quit because Don is not an op, and nobody knew him as well as Monkeyman. And, of course, he belongs to Don Thornton now.

For me, though, the decision on which name to use is a bit different from your. For you, "Ellmyruh" and "Layla" are names used by different groups of people... For me, that's not the case. The nickname Monkeyman was originally given to me as an addition to my name, so right from the start, I have been "Don the Monkeyman". There are people IRL who know me as "Monkeyman" or "Monkey", and many people who can use either name interchangably. As a result, I think nothing of it when I am called by either name, whether it is IRL or in RinkChat. There was even somebody (I don't remember who) that came into RinkChat after being a Forum regular and called me "Don" and "DM" in RinkChat despite the fact that I was using the Monkeyman name in there at the time. It takes a second for me to make the transition, but I really don't feel odd with either one...

Like you, I don't really know where I'm going with this. I guess all I'm trying to say is that I consider myself to be equal parts Don and Monkeyman, and don't really like to neglect either part of myself. For me, choosing a new name has to be done carefully. I think I'm getting comfortable with my new choice, though... I'm just wondering now if I should change the name I post under up top. For some reason it doesn't bother me as much there... (And here at work, I have the autocomplete to help me).

Don "The Ramblin' Man" Monkey